By Saniya Ghanoui -- July 7, 2010
The weather may be warm, but the welcome will not be. On Saturday, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will arrive to attend the National Governors Association meeting and protestors will be out in full force.
The Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition is sponsoring a rally to speak out against what they call Brewer's "racist law," also known at SB 1070, which allows officers to verify the legal status of people stopped for other crimes.
In a newly released 90-minute training video from Arizona, officers are not supposed to stop people based on suspicion of race however they can judge people's ability to speak English, their dress and whether or not they are in an area frequented by illegal immigrants.
The rules in the video are baffling even to state officials. Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villasenor is against the law and says, no matter what officers do, they will be accused of racial profiling.
"Even if you're on firm ground, there are people out there who are not going to believe this is not racially motivated," said Villasenor.
With other states considering similar legislation, ANSWER wants to make it clear that anti-immigration laws are coming at a time when "all people are suffering from the wave of budget cuts and mass unemployment that makes racism and anti-immigrant xenophobia so dangerous."
Jennifer Zaldana works for ANSWER and said the rally is not solely for Brewer but for all the governors. She said the protest is a way for everyone to become involved and speak out against this and any future legislation.
"Many people in the east coast are completely against the Arizona law, SB 1070, but they don't know where to go, they don't know how to help, they don't know...how they can help in anyway," said Zaldana.
Frank Soults, from the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), said this type of anti-immigration is the worst MIRA has ever seen since its inception. He applauded the Justice Department for the lawsuit brought against Arizona on Tuesday and said the anti-immigration legislation is not only a civil rights issue, but a legal one as well.
"The Justice Department is basing its suit, its federal suit, against Arizona on the fact that immigration policy is up to the federal government, under the Constitution to set. Not for individual states to try to enforce," Soults said. "We're sorry that they didn't go further and cite civil rights violations that this horrible law obviously makes."
ANSWER is planning several protests, throughout the summer, all around the country in response to the Arizona immigration legislation.
WERS reporter Cat Viglienzoni contributed to this report.
(Photo courtesy: Cat Viglienzoni)
