Hooray for Arizona #2

This article appeared in USA Today.

Arizona immigration law creates rift


Opponents of Arizona's new immigration enforcement law protest Sunday outside the state Capitol in Phoenix.

By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

Arizona's controversial immigration enforcement law was the target of fresh attacks Sunday as opponents, from national civil rights activists to Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, vowed to take their fight to the courts as soon as this week.

Gordon, a Democrat, joined some federal lawmakers, including Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., and about 3,500 protesters Sunday at the Arizona Capitol, assailing the measure signed Friday by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer as a "racist and unjust" attempt at achieving an overhaul of the USA's immigration policies.

"This is dividing our city and our state; it's tearing us apart," said Gordon, who will seek City Council approval Tuesday to file a lawsuit against the state to block the measure.


Joe Arpaio, the vocal Republican sheriff of metro Phoenix's Maricopa County who urged passage of the law, said the measure provides another tool for officers to counter persistent illegal immigration.

Arpaio, whose department's tactics already are the subject of a Justice Department investigation of allegations of racial profiling in past immigration enforcement actions, said he intends to enforce the new law.


"I will not back down," said Arpaio who is considering a run for governor. "We've got plenty of room (at the jail). I'll make room, if I have to."


In New York, civil rights activist Al Sharpton and Lillian Rodríguez López, president of the Hispanic Federation, announced they would go to federal court this week to challenge the law, which Sharpton said effectively "sanctions" racial profiling.


The most divisive aspect of the law, which takes effect 90 days after the current state Legislature adjourns, requires local law enforcement officials to "determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact made by an official or agency of the state … if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S."


"The only way you enforce this law is by racial profiling," Sharpton said. Brewer said she will not tolerate racial profiling and will require officers to undergo special training to enforce the new law.


If legal attempts to block the legislation fail before the law takes effect, Sharpton said he'll lead protesters into the state for civil disobedience.


Acknowledging the contentious nature of her decision, Brewer said she "prayed for strength and prayed for our state" and concluded that the law "represents what's best for Arizona."

"We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act," she said at Friday's signing announcement. "But decades of federal inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation."

The new Arizona law has been particularly contentious within the national and local law enforcement community.

San Jose Police Chief Robert Davis, president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, said the group stands by its 2006 policy that "immigration enforcement by local police would likely negatively effect and undermine the level of trust and cooperation between local police and immigrant communities."