Thread: Arizona immigration bill: Mayor Gordon says Phoenix may sue

Arizona immigration bill: Mayor Gordon says Phoenix may sue
118 commentsby Scott Wong and Casey Newton - Apr. 23, 2010 03:32 PM

Thrusting Arizona's largest city into the immigration debate, Mayor Phil Gordon on Friday said Phoenix may file a lawsuit to halt the toughest law in the nation targeting illegal immigration.

The Democratic mayor said he has requested the City Council on Tuesday to consider suing the state on grounds the new immigration law is "unconstitutional" and "unenforceable."


The legislation, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday, makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally and requires local police to enforce federal immigration laws
, among other things.

"I've scheduled an item on the agenda for Tuesday to ask the council to direct the city attorney to draft, to prepare a lawsuit
asking for an injunction on this law and challenging it on constitutional grounds," Gordon told The Arizona Republic.

The law requires police to make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person if there is suspicion that the person is in the United States illegally.

Michael Nowakowski, the council's lone Hispanic, said he's concerned the law could expose the city to costly racial-profiling lawsuits at a time it's already struggling with massive budget cuts.

He said authorities should enforce the law uniformly by asking every person stopped by police for proof of citizenship. Nowakowski, a Democrat, also wants President Obama to intervene, though it's unclear what powers he has over state law.

As a "last resort," the councilman would support legal action against the state.

"If it comes to a vote," Nowakowski said, "I will vote to challenge the law to protect our residents and our tax dollars."

Not all council members are on board.

Councilman Sal DiCiccio, a Republican, said Phoenix has an obligation to follow the law, calling a potential lawsuit a "mistake." He said he was confident Phoenix police could enforce the law without discriminating against minorities.

"We've got police officers we've trained to deal with homicide investigations. We can train our officers not to racially profile individuals," DiCiccio said. "No one wants to see racial profiling occur."

A revised council agenda released Friday includes an item titled: "POSSIBLE LEGAL ACTION TO CHALLENGE SENATE BILL 1070." The public meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at City Council Chambers, 200 W. Jefferson St.


http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... ordon.html

"I've scheduled an item on the agenda for Tuesday to ask the council to direct the city attorney to draft, to prepare a lawsuit
asking for an injunction on this law and challenging it on constitutional grounds," Gordon told The Arizona Republic.

Mayor Gordon should be suing the federal government for allowing his city to be the kidnapping capital of the country and not enforcing it's own immigration laws, not his own state that is stepping up to the plate.

What a fool. The state takes steps to increase its security and this man is afraid of losing his illegal aliens. They are already feeling the presence of Mexico's crime waves

Originally Posted by uniteasone

What a fool. The state takes steps to increase its security and this man is afraid of losing his illegal aliens.

He's just pandering to the groups profiting from IAs earning their political donations.

Phoenix mayor vows to fight SB1070
by Kevin Tripp/KTAR (April 23rd, 2010 @ 7:39pm)
Comments:71

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon vowed Friday to take steps to keep SB1070 from becoming the nation's toughest law targeting illegal immigration.

Gordon said the bill, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer Friday, is ripping the state apart, giving businesses an ugly picture of the state and that it will lead to lawsuits costing the state millions of dollars.

One of those lawsuits may be filed by Phoenix, according to Gordon, who said he would take the issue before the City Council on Tuesday.

"As the mayor, I am putting an item on the agenda to authorize the city attorney to prepare a lawsuit to file on the grounds that it's unconstitutional," Gordon said.

He expressed concern that the bill will lead to violence.

"This is going to motivate certainly the Hispanic and African-American communities to come out in numbers that haven't been seen, even when President Obama was running," said Gordon.

Gordon, a Democrat, said signing the bill will do nothing to politically help Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican.

"If she thinks the extremists are going to vote for her because she allowed Russell Pearce and Joe Arpaio to pull her strings, she's made a major strategic mistake," he said.

Pearce is the Republican state representative who was prime sponsor of SB1070, and Arpaio is the Maricopa County sheriff who has made fighting illegal immigration one of his top priorities.



http://www.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1287410

How would the city of Phoenix even attempt to challenge this?

"I will vote to challenge the law to protect our residents and our tax dollars."

These people are not citizens, and they definitely domn't deserve to reside in this great country. And since when did illegals pay taxes other sales tax?

Councilman Sal DiCiccio, a Republican, said Phoenix has an obligation to follow the law, calling a potential lawsuit a "mistake." He said he was confident Phoenix police could enforce the law without discriminating against minorities.

Why do Hispanics think there will be a witch hunt against them? All the cops have to do is ask every single person they pull over their citizenship staus is.

"As the mayor, I am putting an item on the agenda to authorize the city attorney to prepare a lawsuit to file on the grounds that it's unconstitutional," Gordon said

.

Unconstitutional? In other words, I do not like the bill and I will cry it's unconstitutional. In the meantime, we can find a liberal, illegal-invader loving judge - who's more than willing to legislate from the bench, under the guise of upholding the Constitution - to side on our behalf.

That's what unconstitutional means to philberto elgordon.

Here's my line of reasoning:

If this law is patterned on federal law and is found unconstitutional, then is the federal law (Simpson Mazolli) also unconstitutional? If Simpson Mazolli is unconstitutional, then do all those people granted amnesty in 1986 revert to being illegals?

Updated April 25, 2010
Phoenix Mayor: Arizona Immigration Law Puts Seniors, Kids at Risk of Being Arrested



Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon says seniors, kids and out-of-staters should be wary of the Arizona immigration bill signed into law this past week -- warning that it puts them at risk of being arrested.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon says seniors, kids and out-of-staters should be wary of the Arizona immigration bill signed into law this past week -- warning that it puts them at risk of being arrested.

The law makes illegal immigration a state crime. It gives police the authority to question people about their immigration status and arrest those who cannot show documentation to establish their legal residency.

Gordon, a staunch opponent of the state law, said that means anyone who doesn't carry an Arizona license -- children under 16, seniors who don't drive and people from out of state -- could be "at risk of being arrested and turned over to (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)."

"It tramples civil rights," Gordon told Fox News on Sunday. "Now everyone has to show and prove that they're a legal resident or citizen."

The mayor of Arizona's largest city is at odds with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the bill Friday and described the legislation as her state's answer to "decades of inaction and misguided policy" in Washington.

It's unclear whether non-state license holders would be as susceptible to arrest as Gordon described.

A "valid Arizona" driver's license is just one of several types of documentation the law says would count as proof of residency.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04 ... olitics%29

Not in my state: Anti-immigration law doesn't reflect the beliefs of Arizona's people



279 Comments


By Phil Gordon
Saturday, April 24, 2010


As an immigration bill that nationally embarrasses Arizona becomes bad law, our best hope in my hometown is that the rest of America doesn't do to Arizona what Senate Bill 1070 requires our police officers to do to people with brown skin: "profile" them based on stereotypes and insufficient information.

Arizona is not a state seething with hatred, eager to trample the civil rights of residents in haphazard pursuit of illegal immigrants. Nor are most Arizonans bigots eager to drag our state back to the 1980s, when Gov. Evan Mecham's absurd behavior made our home a national laughingstock.

Our state is frustrated. We have become ground zero in the battle over illegal immigration because of years of lapsed federal border security. This week that frustration exploded, thanks to hateful political opportunists such as state Sen. Russell Pearce, the author of the legislation, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is already under investigation by the federal Justice Department for alleged violations of civil rights.

Pearce and Arpaio -- two men who are to Arizona law enforcement what George Wallace was to Alabama government -- care less about capturing human smugglers and drug cartel gunmen than they do about capturing headlines. And in a state with a far-right legislature that is increasingly out of step with an increasingly moderate population, they're also out of step with the rules of basic civility.

Anyone who points out that S.B. 1070 is surely unconstitutional is viciously attacked. One of Pearce's many broadsides even maliciously attacked the Catholic Church. Those unimpressed by the after-the-fact training for law enforcement proposed Friday by Gov. Jan Brewer are brushed aside. Those who raise a concern about the legislation (perhaps noting that its "reasonable suspicion" standard for police stops of those who look illegal is overly broad) have been met not with facts but with slurs against their character, patriotism and respect for the Constitution.

We in Arizona do respect the Constitution, just as we respect the hard work and sacrifices of the many immigrants who have contributed to making our state a diverse, welcoming place. That respect has driven a series of massive, passionate counterprotests to this legislation, and it will continue to drive opposition from the center, the left and the moderate right. The opponents of S.B. 1070 are many in Arizona, a majority who can no longer be silent if the price of silence is allowing the vocal, spiteful few to rule: All of us, from business leaders to police chiefs, elected representatives to church groups, will continue to pressure Gov. Brewer. As we see it, the governor must call a special session of our legislature to fix the act's myriad flaws.


Until she does, we will explore every option available to quell the fear and frustration that have become rampant here. Already, I have called a special meeting of the Phoenix City Council to establish standing to sue the state on the grounds that S.B. 1070 unconstitutionally co-opts our police force to enforce immigration laws that are the rightful jurisdiction of the federal government.

The opponents of S.B. 1070 will continue to work with Washington to permanently secure the Arizona border, where last year 500,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended. Our aim is nothing short of comprehensive immigration reform, a new policy that cracks down on predators and criminals who have entered the United States illegally even as it establishes a path to legal residency for law-abiding immigrant neighbors who want nothing more than the chance to earn a paycheck and live a productive life.

The Arizona I've known since moving here from Chicago as a boy is the birthplace of C?sar Ch?vez; it's a free-thinking, hospitable state capable of balancing great natural beauty and cultures of all sorts. This place we've heard about lately, the Arizona willing to risk economic boycotts and international ridicule in the pursuit of an ugly, discriminatory law? I don't recognize it.

But I do recognize those responsible for this humiliating moment. They are bitter, small-minded and full of hate, and they in no way speak for Arizona.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 04469.html