FROM PRESS RELEASES
A federal court in Phoenix blocked key provisions of Arizona's controversial immigration measure SB1070 July 28, a day before the law was scheduled to go into effect, according to an American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) press release.
The statement said, "The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice challenging the Arizona law. The decision vindicates similar claims made by the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of civil-rights groups in a separate lawsuit challenging the discriminatory measure."
The blocked sections include:
—The requirement that police officers investigate the immigration status of all individuals they stop if the officers suspect that they are in the country unlawfully;
—The mandatory detention of individuals who are arrested, even for minor offenses that would normally result in a ticket, if they cannot verify that they are authorized to be in the United States;
—The new statute imposing state criminal penalties for non-citizens failing to register with the Department of Homeland Security or failing to carry registration documents;
—The provision for warrantless arrest of individuals who are deemed by state or local police officers to be "removable" from the U.S.; and
—The new state statute making it a crime for alleged undocumented immigrants to work.
Also according to the statement, "the civil-rights coalition that also challenged the law includes the ACLU, MALDEF, National Immigration Law Center ( NILC ) , Asian Pacific American Legal Center ( APALC ) —a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, ACLU of Arizona, National Day Laborer Organizing Network ( NDLON ) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) . The law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP is acting as co-counsel in the case.
"The coalition's lawsuit, filed on May 17 and argued the same day as the Justice Department's case, challenges SB 1070 on legal grounds raised in the Justice Department's lawsuit as well as others including that the law invites the racial profiling of people of color, violates the First Amendment and interferes with federal law. According to the coalition, the law would subject massive numbers of people—both citizens and non-citizens—to racial profiling, improper investigations and detention."
GetEQUAL reaches out to Gaga
The LGBT-rights organization GetEQUAL is asking people to urge superstar singer and gay fave Lady Gaga from performing in Phoenix July 31 as a stand against Arizona's controversial immigration measure.
A GetEQUAL press release stated, "We all know how supportive Lady Gaga is of LGBT issues. What's missing is her support of immigrants to America—especially immigrant youth who are also lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.
"As a community of people who understand what government-sanctioned discrimination feels like, it's important that the LGBT community stand strong with those who are experiencing the same type of discrimination at the hands of others...especially when there are many places where our communities overlap.
"We're working with progressive activists in Arizona, who have called for businesses and performers to boycott the state. Many have—but Lady Gaga is planning to move forward with plans for a concert in Phoenix on July 31. We're joining groups in Phoenix in asking her to make a public statement at the concert against SB 1070 and to stand with the immigrant community in Arizona and beyond."
The organization is asking people to visit www.getequal.org/ladygaga.
