VOTO LATINO DECRIES PASSAGE OF RACIAL PROFILING BILL IN ARIZONA

VOTO LATINO DECRIES PASSAGE OF RACIAL PROFILING BILL IN ARIZONA

by Voto Latino Monday, Apr. 26, 2010 at 1:30 AM

April 23, 2010, Washington, D.C. – Voto Latino condemns the passing of SB 1070, signed into law by Arizona governor Jan Brewer at 4:30 pm EST today. The bill grants law enforcement officers the ability to, without a warrant, arrest any person whom the officer, with probable cause, believes might be illegally residing in the U.S.

Official Statement on behalf of Voto Latino by Maria Teresa Kumar, Founding Executive Director:

“SB 1070 provides a record level of legal impunity for profiling individuals based purely on their physical appearance. With this new legislation, the almost 2 million Arizonans of Hispanic descent run the risk of being stopped by the police at will, and will be given zero means of recourse against such actions.

“The law indirectly criminalizes an entire community whereby first generation legal residents and fifth generation American citizens, alike, are vulnerable. Looks alone can serve as basis for arrest.

“This legislation is unconstructive and divisive. It tears local communities apart instead of finding common sense solutions to solve problems. Nobody wins.”

Voto Latino’s membership base is outraged at the passage of SB 1070, and are making their voices heard via Voto Latino’s social networking and mobile platforms, which include www.becountedrepresent.com, Facebook.com/votolatino, Twitter.com/votolatino, and texting “AZ” to 738674.

In addition, Voto Latino is also mobilizing its millenial NGO coalition, a network of local and national youth organizations with whom the organization has partnered on “get out the vote” and census participation initiatives, to formally protest this affront to the liberty of Americans in Arizona.