City of Laredo Files Brief With U.S. Supreme Court Against Controversial Arizona Immigration Law
Written by admin, Mar 23, 2012, 0 Comments
Courtesy Xochitl Mora,
The City of Laredo has joined with a collection of other cities, counties and organizations in filing a “Friend of the Court” or amicus curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of blocking sections of the controversial Arizona immigration statute as it pertains to local law enforcement.
City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas explained, “The City of Laredo fully supports enforcement of the nation’s laws, but we need to recognize that different laws must be enforced by different government agencies. The Arizona law requires local law enforcement officers to investigate individuals’ immigration status, detain arrestees until their immigration status is verified, and enforce state laws that criminalize failure to carry alien registration documents, instead of focusing simply on local law enforcement and security.”
“Laredo and many of the cities and counties that we have joined on the brief are home to some of the largest immigrant communities in the country. If the Arizona law, as it pertains to local law enforcement obligations is allowed to take effect, and similar laws are enacted here in Texas, our police department’s ability to carry out their core mission to serve and protect Laredo’s residents would be significantly undermined,” he concluded.
Mayor Salinas was concerned about the inherent “racist” spirit of the law, as only a suspicion of someone being undocumented is required for police to begin questioning a person’s citizenship, leading to racial profiling for many Hispanics. Additionally, law enforcement officials also point out that many crimes in immigrant communities may go unreported, for fear of deportation. For these reasons, the City of Laredo City Council decided to be a part of the collective voicing their dissent of this law.
“I am very proud that my colleagues on the Laredo City Council supported disapproving the State of Arizona’s immigration law SB-710 with a resolution in May 2010 and I appreciate the work of Laredo City Attorney Raul Casso for his diligent work in reviewing and approving the filing.”
