Arizona governor signs immigration law; foes promise fight (Arizona Republic)

Arizona governor signs immigration law; foes promise fight

by Alia Beard Rau - Apr. 23, 2010 02:38 PM
The Arizona Republic

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer today signed into law an immigration bill that gives the state toughest law in the nation, making it a state crime to be in the country illegally and requiring local police to enforce federal immigration laws.

Brewer said she signed the bill in response to "the crisis the federal government has refused to fix.''

Hispanic leaders addressing the hundreds of protesters at the Capitol immediately vowed to wage a legal fight, and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said he wants the city to sue.

The new immigration law will require anyone whom police suspect of being in the country illegally to produce "an alien registration document," such as a green card, or other proof of citizenship such as a passport or Arizona driver's license.

It also makes it illegal to impede the flow of traffic by picking up day laborers for work. A day laborer who gets picked up for work, thus impeding traffic, would also be committing a criminal act.

Gordon criticized Brewer's action.

"The governor clearly knows that her actions not only have split the state, but will now cause severe economic hardship to all our businesses at a time when we can't afford any losses. The executive order isn't worth the paper it's written on."

Gordon said the executive order to AZ POST would be unenforceable; called it "an attempt to solve this problem with smoke and mirrors."

"Officers throughout the state will be allowed to interpret it on their own since governments can't adopt any policies including interpretations or rules. Therefore her own executive order is in conflict with the statute."

Gordon continued: "I'm extremely disappointed at the governor's actions, that a governor with a caring heart has allowed individuals like Russell Pearce and Joe Arpaio to make her a puppet governor whose strings are controlled by them."

"I've scheduled an item on the agenda for Tuesday to ask the council to direct the city attorney to draft, to prepare a lawsuit asking for an injunction on this law and challenging it on constitutional grounds. It's real important to me that we all must remain peaceful and calm. Calls for economic boycotts by our residents, by our elected officials, are wrong, will hurt everyone, and we must now go to court as occurred in the 1950s and 1960s in the civil rights battles."

Pro-bill protesters at Capitol cheered loudly when Brewer made her announcement, one yelling out "God Bless Jan Brewer.''

Meanwhile, the anti-bill protesters began shouting in unison, "Shame on You! Shame on You!"

A handful of teenage girls was seen openly weeping after it was announced that Brewer had signed the bill.

After the chanting started, pro-bill forces began to sing "America the Beautiful."

Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox said afterwards that the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican-American Defense Fund have already promised to fight implementation of the law.

"This is only the first step of a long battle, and I don't lose,'" Wilcox said.

She also chastised Brewer, calling her cold-hearted.

"When the president says this is wrong, it's a shame she put herself above him,'' Wilcox said.

Alfredo Gutierrez, a Latino community leader and former state senator, said, "Obviously, this is a very bad thing for the state from our point of view." He predicted acts of civil disobedience and economic consequences for the state as a result.

"This is apartheid for us. This law is influenced by laws of South Africa. It's amazing to me that in 2010, we are dealing with acts of such overt hatred anywhere in this country,'' Gutierrez said.

Those leading the rally urged protesters to follow the lead of legendary civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, who in 1972 led the unionization of farm works in direct opposition to legislation that year.

But at about 2:15 p.m., police began to arrest a handful of protesters who threw water bottles at the police on the south side of the Capitol.

Other protesters urged the small group to stop.

At another site near the Capitol, meanwhile, a large group of protesters started chasing a supporter of the bill, prompting police to come to his rescue

The Arizona Senate and House limited access to the public all morning to keep the crowd away from lawmakers and legislative staff.

Terry Irish of Chandler, who favors the bill, was elated when Brewer announced her decision. He said he did not blame opposing protesters for asserting themselves, however. He said it is a symptom of federal policies of inaction not to close the border.

"This thing wouldn't be happening if they had sealed our borders,'' Irish said.

"They allowed this to happen to make these people slaves to business."

At the news conference, Brewer also issued an executive order Arizona Police Officer Standards and Training board to develop training that will help police agencies appropriately implement the legislation, including what does or does not constitute reasonable suspicion that somebody is an illegal immigrant. Brewer vowed to protect individual civil rights, saying, "I will not tolerate racial discrimination or racial profiling in Arizona.''

She said she believes the law itself will protect those rights, directing police not to consider solely race or color in deciding whether to stop someone suspected of being in the country illegally.

"People across America are watching Arizona," Brewer said, noting that critics nationally are "waiting for us to fail.''

However, she insisted the law will be consistent with federal immigration laws and she called concerned "alarmist.''

The law goes into effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends, which is expected to be sometime in early May.