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: ACLU Newsroom

Secretary Napolitano Testifies Administration Will Review Arizona Immigration Law

By ACLU

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 27, 2010

CONTACT: (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier today, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the Justice Department will review the recently passed Arizona anti-immigrant law.

The Arizona law is the most extreme anti-immigrant law in the country, requiring law enforcement to question individuals about their immigration status during everyday police encounters, creating new immigration crimes and penalties inconsistent with those in federal law, asserting sweeping authority to detain and transport persons suspected of violating civil immigration laws and prohibiting speech and other expressive activity by persons seeking work. Secretary Napolitano stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deep concerns with the law's effects and that such broad immigration enforcement may detract and siphon resources away from ICE's priority of focusing on the most serious criminals.

The American Civil Liberties Union fiercely opposes the Arizona law, believing it will result in racial and ethnic profiling and alienate immigrant communities from cooperating with the police.

The following can be attributed to Omar Jadwat, a staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project:

'If there's ever a time for the Obama administration to step in and take a stand for fairness and equality, the time is now. We call on the Obama administration to take every step within its power to make sure this abhorrent, discriminatory law never takes effect.'

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Full post as published by ACLU Newsroom on April 27, 2010 (boomark / email).