On Friday, April 23, 2010, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed Arizona Senate Bill 1070 into law.  This controversial immigration bill authorizes police to stop and question any person who they have a “reasonable suspicion” is undocumented for the purpose of verifying his or her status with the federal government.  SB 1070 further requires legal permanent residents to carry registration documents, under penalty of state law; failure to do so constitutes a private state offense.  Anyone unable to produce proper documentation could be arrested, jailed for up to six months, and fined $2,500.  Furthermore, SB 1070 creates a private right of action for any person, city, or county to sue the police for not enforcing this bill.

By creating state criminal causes of action, one apparent goal of the drafters of the law is to force undocumented families out of Arizona in order to promote safety.  State Senator Russell Pearce, the author of the law, has been quoted as saying: "When you make life difficult, most will leave on their own."  However, the enforcement of this law undermines the safety of all Arizona residents—by discouraging threatened communities, regardless of their immigration status, from reporting crimes to state officials for fear of interrogation and suspicion by the police.  

Additionally, SB 1070 creates serious legal implications for the civil rights and liberties of all Arizona residents and those visiting the state.  The law, which is hard to implement without sophisticated training, risks exposing Latino residents to racial profiling.   Even as Governor Jan Brewer signed the law, she was unable to explain how police officers would be able to identify undocumented persons.  In the absence of any guidance from the legislature, the police will likely racially-profile Latinos and other communities that law enforcement presumes to be foreign. 

The Berkeley La Raza Law Journal and the Berkeley La Raza Law Students Association unequivocally denounce SB 1070.  For those living in Arizona, SB 1070 deprives entire communities of their constitutionally-protected civil rights. Simply put, this result is unacceptable.

We, as students of the law, stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Arizona who will be subject to police interrogation and harassment due to an unjust and dehumanizing law.  We applaud those organizations that are mobilizing against this law, including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders (CONLAMIC), and other organizations across the Boalt community and country speaking out against this law.  

As members of the legal community, we recognize we have a special role to play against SB 1070.  We will work with and support others committed to repealing this hateful legislation.  In an effort to promote discussion and education, we will continue to send updates about SB 1070 and other issues affecting the Latino/a community.  For more information, please join our Google Group and listserv by visiting our Google Group below (Google-users only) or send an e-mail to BoaltLaRazaLaw-Announcements+subscribe@googlegroups.com (non-Google users).    

In Solidarity,

The Berkeley La Raza Law Journal and the Berkeley La Raza Law Students Association