It’s right to challenge Arizona’s law

The Department of Justice has asked for an injunction stopping the Arizona SB1070 from going into effect and filed a lawsuit in Federal court challenging the constitutionality of the law on grounds that the state’s new immigration law illegally intrudes on federal prerogatives. The announcement comes after more than 30 jurisdictions across the nation have enacted resolutions to condemn Arizona’s law, joined a national boycott of Arizona or instituted travel bans.

Here is a statement from Julien Ross, executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition:

“We are gratified to see the Obama administration challenge this unjust law. Immigration is a tough and divisive issue, and only the Federal Government has the constitutional right to write and implement immigration law. Without comprehensive immigration reform at the national level we will continue to see regressive half-measures enacted at the state level. These laws only serve to divide all Americans, at a time when we should all be coming together to make our nation more secure and economically viable.

“As our nation pulls out of the worst recession of the last 30 years, we need real solutions to the Immigration issue and those solutions do not include profiling our Latino residents. Challenging this legislation in Arizona is a good first step on the road to creating real immigration reform, and it will serve to stop other states from acting in inappropriate ways against their own residents. We need people in our communities to feel safe, so that they can continue supporting businesses with their money, and the state of Colorado with their taxes.

” This week’s announcement occurred on the heels of major national address on comprehensive immigration reform from President Obama. The President called Arizona’s law “misguided.” Arizona’s law violates the Constitution, represents an unchecked government intervention that violates the constitutional rights of every American, undermines law enforcement’s ability to fight crime, and discriminates against U.S. citizens based on skin color or accent.

” Workers are not criminals, they are here to make a better life for themselves and their families. Laws like AZ 1070 do nothing to help wage disparity or worker abuse, and hark back to the darker days of American past, when we thought it was ok to discriminate against certain people in our nation. Those days are gone, and it is time to look forward to a time when all Americans are treated with dignity and respect.

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition applauds President Obama for challenging this kind of biased and counter-productive legislation, and we encourage him to continue what he started with this challenge by pushing for comprehensive immigration reform at the Federal level. Only through Federal action, can we hope to have a viable and just immigration system nationwide. “

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