Citing Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio's already existing profiling practices, the letter states, "We write to you today as civil rights leaders in Arizona to tell you that we are afraid of what is coming. We are afraid that the color of our skin will make us targets for harassment, pretextual arrest, and limitless detention. We are afraid that our families will be separated, children will be torn from their mothers and fathers and entire communities will be forced to live in a constant state of fear. We fear the criminalization of our community and the mass incarceration of innocent people."
Although DHS announced a partial termination of its 287(g) program the day of the Supreme Court decision, Arizona advocates believe that much more is necessary on the part of the federal government, which has the authority and responsibility to prevent the inevitable civil and human rights violations that will occur if Section 2B of SB 1070 is implemented.
“By maintaining 287(g) and Secure Communities in jails across the state, the federal government is complicit in the very same profiling that has been codified by Section 2(B),” said Alessandra Soler, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arizona, one of the letter’s signatories.
Signatories further implore Secretary Napolitano to “show leadership and take action to protect the people of Arizona,” and adding that “Arizona has ignited the flames of a civil rights crisis. Please, do not allow our federal agencies to fuel the fire."
Read the full letter at: http://bit.ly/aznapolitano
Carlos Garcia of Puente Arizona will be available for in-person interviews at 1306 E. Van Buren at 3:00pm today.
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