NDLON

When the Supreme Court hears the Department of Justice lawsuit challenging portions of Arizona's Senate Bill 1070 today, what will be debated has much higher stakes than the limited constitutional questions of federal and state powers that will be before the court. Perhaps those are the narrow arguments that will pass between lawyers, but SB 1070 isn't about a battle between federal and state power. It isn't even about immigration policy, nor is it about Arizona. SB 1070 is about all of us. How we respond to crisis, how we treat each other and whether we will let the bill's defenders stand in the doorway of history or whether we will refuse to have the hard-fought advances in our rights be turned back. arizona republiccarlos garciaop-edsb1070supreme court

Department of Homeland Security programs like 'Secure Communities' help drive the Arizona-fication of the countryBy CARLOS GARCIA Carlos Garcia grew up in Arizona and is a leader of Puente Arizona, a human rights organization seeking to improve conditions for migrant families in Maricopa County, Ariz.  Now that the Department of Justice has closed its investigation into the troubled office of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, what lessons are there from Maricopa County?