Washington, D.C.–The U.S Congress Tri-Caucus Chairs and members have joined the National Immigration Forum leaders in urging the Supreme Court to strike down SB 1070, Arizona’s immigration law, calling it “unconstitutional” and “un-American.”

The Tri-Caucus is composed of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).

The Supreme Court started to hear oral arguments on the first legal challenge to a state anti-immigrant law on April 25.

The law includes provisions that allow police officers to ask individuals to show proof of their residency status, based on the reasonable suspicion that they are undocumented. Failure to provide such proof is a criminal offense.

“This is the most important immigration case in a generation…This discriminatory law does not reflect our values, it is not who we are as a nation,” said Dr. Warren Stewart, senior pastor of First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix and Board Chair of the National Immigration Forum. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from the Birmingham Jail, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’”

States beyond Arizona, including Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina, have already passed legislation similar to SB1070, according to South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT).

SAALT has joined immigrant and civil rights organizations across the country in urging the Supreme Court to uphold the basic rights for all and to strike down this law. It said the solution “needs to come from the federal level through just and humane immigration reform and robust anti-profiling legislation.”

CAPAC

U.S. Congresswoman and CAPAC Chair Judy Chu (CA-32) said: “Arizona’s attempt to create its own immigration policy is more than just unconstitutional: it’s dangerous for the American people. The Constitution grants the federal government sole authority to make and enforce immigration policy. Arizona’s SB1070 undercuts this federal role and codifies the use of racial profiling to do it.”

U.S. Congressman and CHC Chairman Charles A. Gonzalez (TX-20) said on April 24 that SB 1070 is a “misguided law, which includes the ‘show me your papers’ provision and provides legal cover for warrant-less arrests and does not represent the values on which our country was founded.” U.S. Congressman Silvestre Reyes (TX-16) called SB 1070 “un-American.”

Remarked U.S. Congressman and CBC Chairman Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-5): “The Supreme Court has the opportunity to officially reject the use of racial profiling and discrimination against minorities. Throughout our 41-year history, the Congressional Black Caucus has worked tirelessly to ensure that all Americans, regardless of race, color or creed have the chance to pursue and achieve the American dream.”

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07) also pointed out: “Allowing Arizona to write its own immigration law threatens the federal system of governance that has made two centuries of American success possible. Those who agree with SB 1070 should consider whether they really want a country with fifty immigration laws and fifty different restrictions on the flow of employment and goods.”

He added: “Allowing states to write their own immigration laws would put individuals and families in an impossible legal position when deciding where to work, where to go to school, whom to associate with and whom to offer a ride home. That’s not the country we really want. Comprehensive immigration reform is a realistic solution. A state patchwork is not.”

‘Profiling’

CAPAC Chair Chu also noted: “From Jim Crowe to the Chinese Exclusion Act to the NYPD surveillance of Muslim Americans, minority groups in this country have come to know what it means to be targeted for who they are. It is not, has never been, and will never be acceptable. I urge the Supreme Court to overturn this egregious overstep for the safety of every American citizen.”

Founded in 1994, CAPAC is composed of members of Congress of Asian and Pacific Islander descent and members who have a strong dedication to promoting the well-being of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

U.S. Congressman Gonzalez said, “Since its passage, SB1070 has legalized profiling of Latinos, prevented local police from doing their jobs by turning them into immigration agents, and codified harassment of families and communities.”

U.S. Congressman Cleaver also said: “Arizona’s un-American law promotes discrimination based on appearance and accent. To do so encourages discrimination against all people of color–including those who have been American citizens all their lives. It appears that some would like for our communities to think about immigration in terms of ‘us vs. them’, and I vehemently reject that notion. Many American workers are suffering from dire economic conditions, and our broken immigration system creates a race to the bottom for the worst-paying and most difficult jobs.”

“I urge the Supreme Court to strike down the Arizona law and protect our citizens’ basic rights,” he added. “It is time that we all come to the table, negotiate, and fix our broken immigration system and establish comprehensive immigration reform, not a confusing patchwork of fifty different laws.”

Commented U.S. Congressman Mike Honda (CA-15), CAPAC Immigration Taskforce Chair: “Arizona’s misguided attempt at enforcing immigration policy through SB 1070 is not only unconstitutional, but has also torn at the social and moral fabric of families, communities, and America as a whole. As someone who was placed in Japanese internment camps during World War II, I know all too well the effects of scapegoating and racial profiling.”

U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) said: “SB1070 raises basic questions about the kind of country we want America to be. This law makes it legal for a mother to be stopped on the street and questioned in front of her children based solely on the way she looks, and that’s just not right.”

Immigration Reform

U.S. Congressman Reyes (TX-16) said: “Two years ago, Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the most reprehensible bill that aims to crack down on undocumented immigrants in the United States. These intrusive measures are a mockery of our democratic values and are deeply insulting to Hispanic veterans, such as myself, who have fought to preserve our nation’s freedom.

“From my 26 years of experience in law enforcement, I know these reckless measures only incite fear among the immigrant community and lead to a new level of mistrust of law enforcement. As residents of the safest city in the nation, El Pasoans know first-hand that public safety is best achieved when local police focus on crime, not on enforcing immigration laws. I strongly urge the U.S Supreme Court to condemn this un-American bill.”

U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) noted: “I’ve lived on the border my whole life and understand the frustrations that border issues can present to a state. At the end of the day, immigration is a federal issue, and securing our border is a federal responsibility. The way to address the problem of illegal immigration is through bipartisan immigration reform, not piecemeal efforts by individual states.”

Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, said: “At its heart, America is an idea, not an ideology. And the idea that all men and women are created equal is unique to America. Once we allow law enforcement to ask someone for identification because they look less equal, the idea of America weakens.

“From our early days as a nation, we’ve fought for the ideal that how you live your life, not what you look like, is what makes you American. In order to protect our nation’s values and our basic rights, we believe the Supreme Court should strike down Arizona’s immigration law as unconstitutional.”

Dr. Stewart, Board Chair of the National Immigration Forum, stressed: “This is the most important immigration case in a generation. As a pastor and civil rights leader in a diverse and tight-knit community in Phoenix, Arizona, I can attest to the culture of fear in Latino and immigrant communities created by SB 1070.

“This discriminatory law does not reflect our values, it is not who we are as a nation. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from the Birmingham Jail, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.’ Moreover, whatever the decision of the Supreme Court, Congress must unite and provide just, humane comprehensive immigration reform that represents our great nation at its best.”

SAALT

Remarked Priya Murthy, Policy Director at SAALT: “The Arizona law encourages racial profiling, as police can target individuals simply based upon their skin color, accent, or language that they speak, whether they are U.S. citizens or not.”

This impact on South Asians has been demonstrated by South Asian organizations, including SAALT and Arizona South Asians for Safe Families, which have joined amicus briefs challenging this law.

“The South Asian community sadly knows all too well the devastating effects that profiling has on the rights of community members,” SAALT noted. “Over the past ten years, South Asian, Muslim, Sikh and Arab communities living in the United States have been targeted for heightened scrutiny by law enforcement based on their religion, ethnicity, national origin, or nationality.