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Two Lawsuits Filed Against Arizona Immigration Law

By Jeralyn

Two lawsuits challenging SB 1070, the Arizona immigration law, were filed in federal court today.

In one of the suits filed Thursday, a Tucson police officer, Martin Escobar, 45, a 15-year veteran, claims the law, which requires officers “when practicable” to stop and check the legal status of people they reasonably suspect may be illegal immigrants, would compel him to racially profile.

Mr. Escobar argues that the law does not specify what criteria to use in deciding who might be in the country illegally, and that Tucson’s heavily Hispanic population and proximity to the Mexican border would force him to question people based on their ethnicity, exposing him to civil suits.

I've uploaded the complaint here. [More...]

In the second suit,

A group of clergy members, concerned that church vans and other vehicles transporting people in heavily Hispanic neighborhoods would become a target of police suspicion and detention, filed a petition in federal court, asking a judge to rule on the constitutionality of the law before it is scheduled to take effect this summer.

Among other things, the suit asserts that while the state law might closely mirror federal regulations, it improperly infringes on federal authority by making it a crime to not carry immigration papers, while under federal law it is a civil infraction.

The second suit was filed by the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders. I've uploaded the complaint here.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 30, 2010 (boomark / email).