FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PHOENIX—Six legal organizations that advocate for the rights of immigrants sent a letter to Gov. Doug Ducey today explaining the severe legal and policy implications of an unconstitutional, anti-immigrant bill that is circulating in the Arizona Legislature.
SB 1377 would impose additional incarceration on certain criminal defendants based on a state-court finding that they have violated specific federal immigration laws. This bill is founded on the same unconstitutional use by the state of federal immigration laws that brought down sections of SB 1070.
Not only would this bill lead to litigation, it would also force the state to incur millions more in incarceration costs annually, and covey a message to the world, including potential trading partners, that little has changed in Arizona since SB 1070 was approved in 2010.
The letter is signed by the ACLU of Arizona, the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, which have all been involved in the successful advocacy against SB 1070.
SB 1377 has already passed the Arizona Senate. It is still being considered in the House.
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