America's Voice Blog

Posted 04/23/10 at 11:49am

Obama On AZ Bill: If We Fail To Act at a Federal Level…Continue to See Misguided Efforts

Greg Sargent reports at Plumline, (also check CNN), that the President has come out against Arizona's highly controversial profiling bill, SB1070.

Watch the President's remarks:

At Think Progress, Andrea Nill reports in Obama: ‘Irresponsible’ Arizona Immigration Bill ‘Threatens To Undermine Basic Notions Of Fairness’:

This morning, while speaking at the Active Duty Naturalization Ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, President Obama emphasized the need for immigration reform. During his speech, Obama highlighted SB-1070, a radical bill recently passed in Arizona which will establish some of the harshest immigration laws in the nation, as an example of how federal inaction on the issue “will only open the door to irresponsibility”:

Our failure to act responsible at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others. That includes for example the recent efforts in Arizona which threaten basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe. In fact, I’ve instructed members of my administration to closely monitor the situation and examine the civil rights and other implications of this legislation.

But if we continue to fail to act at a federal level, we will continue to see misguided efforts to open up across the country.

She continues:

Meanwhile, the group behind Arizona’s legislative language has boasted that more misguided bills are definitely on the way. Michael Hethmon of the Immigration Reform Law Institute takes credit for drafting SB-1070 and claims that other states have already approached them about writing similar bills, stating that Arizona is “the latest step in a fairly deliberate process.” Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has until tomorrow to decide how to sign or veto the “nation’s toughest legislation against illegal immigration,” before it automatically becomes law.

Voto Latino is doing a Live Blog of AZ bill coverage:

LIVE BLOG: Arizona bill to legalize racial profiling

Update (11:20AM EST): President Obama gives statement on bill; calls misguided

Update (11:00AM EST): KTAR confirms that AZ Governor Brewer will sign into law today

This Sunday, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will consider a bill (known as SB 1070) that would authorize officers to pull over, question, and detain anyone if they have a “reasonable suspicion” to believe they are in this country without proper documentation. It would, in effect, legalize racial profiling in Arizona.

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