Activists Call on Obama to Fight Arizona Immigrant Law

PHOENIX - Activists on Sunday called on President Barack Obama to fight a tough new Arizona law targeting illegal immigrants. They promised to march in the streets and invite arrest if the measure goes into effect.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona told about 3,500 protesters gathered at the state Capitol that the Obama administration can help defeat the law by refusing to cooperate.

“We’re asking that his federal agencies, particularly Homeland Security, not cooperate with the implementation of this law. That’s defeating this. That’s the strategy.”

The law requires Arizona police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reasonable suspicion they’re in the country illegally. Opponents say it would undoubtedly lead to racial profiling.

Officers would arrest people found to be undocumented and turn them over to federal immigration officers.

Opponents say the federal government can block the law by refusing to accept them.

The Rev. Al Sharpton said that just as freedom riders battled segregation in the 1960s, he would organize “freedom walkers” to challenge the Arizona bill.

“We will go to Arizona when this bill goes into effect and walk the streets with people who refuse to give identification and force arrest,” Sharpton said Sunday in New York.

Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill into law Friday. It requires police to question people about their immigration status — including asking for identification — if they suspect someone is in the country illegally. The law also toughens restrictions on hiring illegal immigrants for day labor and knowingly transporting them.

Supporters have dismissed concerns of racial profiling, saying the law prohibits the use of race or nationality as the sole basis for an immigration check. Brewer has ordered state officials to develop a training course for officers to learn what constitutes reasonable suspicion that someone is in the U.S. illegally.

Hundreds gathered outside the state Capitol in Phoenix on Friday, shouting that the bill would lead to civil rights abuses. After she signed the bill, Brewer said critics were overreacting.

The new law makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. Immigrants unable to produce documents showing they are allowed to be in the U.S. could be arrested, jailed for up to six months and fined $2,500. The law also allows lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws.

Arizona has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants and is the state with the most illegal border crossings. Its harsh, remote desert serves as the gateway to the U.S. for thousands of Mexicans and Central Americans.
 

Photos from the Rally: