Oregon Immigrant Rights Coalition Applauds Injunction Against SB1070

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2010

Contact:
Francisco Lopez, Executive Director: (503) 269-5694
Erik Sorensen, Communications Director: (503) 488-0263

Oregon Immigrant Rights Coalition Applauds Injunction Against SB1070

Key parts prevented from going into affect on Thursday
Salem, Ore.--Today, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton issued a preliminary injunction preventing several sections of Arizona's racial profiling law from going into affect on Thursday.

SB1070, signed into law in April, is the most extreme legislation anywhere in the country to deal with the nation's broken immigration system. Opposition to the law includes law enforcement, a diverse coalition of faith leaders, immigrants' advocates, civil rights leaders, and legal scholars.

"CAUSA applauds Judge Bolton in her decision to issue an injunction against key parts of this discriminatory law ", said Francisco Lopez, Executive Director of CAUSA. "Although this is just the first step in the process of stopping SB1070, this sends a strong message to states wishing to follow Arizona in passing laws targeting immigrants."

Last week, a coalition of civil rights organizations argued in federal court that Arizona's SB1070 should be blocked while their lawsuit against the unconstitutional measure is being litigated. The lawsuit charges that the Arizona Law interferes with federal law, invites racial profiling, and violates various constitutional guarantees including the First Amendment, equal protection, and the right to travel. The U.S. Department of Justice's case against the Arizona law was also heard.

Due to today's decision by the court, the key parts that will not go into effect on Thursday include:

• The portion of the law that requires an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if there's reasonable suspicion they're in the country illegally.
• The portion that creates a crime of failure to apply for or carry "alien-registration papers."
• The portion that makes it a crime for illegal immigrants to solicit, apply for or perform work. (This does not include the section on day laborers.)
• The portion that allows for a warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe they have committed a public offense that makes them removable from the United States.

So while law enforcement in Arizona is left to interpret the remaining components to SB1070 and the courts sort out the legal issues, the country waits for the federal government to fulfill their responsibility and reform our nation's broken immigration system.

"We are grateful for this temporary victory to the injustice that SB1070 represents", says Lopez. "We need the federal government to take action immediately and fix our nation's immigration system by passing comprehensive immigration reform".

From coast to coast, immigration reform advocates will join with the faith and immigrant communities on July 29th for a Day of Solidarity against SB1070. In Portland, CAUSA will join with members of the faith, immigrant and ethnic communities for a rally in solidarity with our Latino Brothers and Sisters in Arizona and call on the President and Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

WHAT: RALLY AND PHOTO-SHOOT AGAINST SB 1070
WHEN: Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:00pm
WHERE:
Corner of NE Holladay & 13th Ave
(Near Lloyd Center)
Portland, Oregon

CAUSA's Executive Director Francisco Lopez will be available in the Portland Area for interviews by the media today. He can be reached by phone at (503) 269-5694





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CAUSA, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Coalition, is a member of the Reform Immigration FOR America coalition and is the largest Latino and Latina civil and human rights and advocacy organization in the Pacific Northwest. We work to defend and advance immigrant rights through coordination with local, state, and national coalitions and allies. For more information, visit www.causaoregon.org

Sources:
Arizona Republic: Arizona immigration law: Key parts struck down by judge
http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2010/07/28/20100728arizona-immigration-law-court-ruling-brk28-ON.html#ixzz0v022AX79

SB1070 ORDER U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
http://www.causaoregon.org/pdfs/sb1070-order.pdf

Posted in: Arizona,Press Release,SB1070