Latino rights group, ACLU, Gordon, feds consider S1070 challenges

There is no shortage of people preparing legal challenges to Arizona’s new landmark illegal immigration law, with a Latino rights group, the ACLU, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and even the federal government contemplating lawsuits.

The Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based Latino rights group, is hoping to get an injunction that will prevent S1070 from going into effect, according to Victor Viramontes, who serves as general counsel for the organization. Viramontes said MALDEF believes the law violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the precedence of federal law over state law.

“We think that this Arizona law has some serious constitutional flaws,” said Viramontes said. “We hope that this law is never enforced. And in order to prevent its enforcement, we will ask for both a preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction.”

Viramontes also said S1070 violates the Constitution’s 4th amendment, which guarantees the right to due process, and the 14th, which guarantees the right to equal protection for all Americans.

The American Civil Liberties Union is considering filing suit on constitutional grounds as well. Alessandra Soler-Meetze, executive director of the ACLU’s Arizona chapter, said the group hadn’t decided whether it would join MALDEF’s lawsuit or file one of its own. Soler-Meetze said ACLU attorneys had not determined which constitutional grounds it would file suit over.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said at an April 27 press conference that he would sue as a private citizen on behalf of the City of Phoenix. Debra Stark, the mayor’s chief of staff, said Gordon has the authority under the city charter to file such a lawsuit without City Council approval.

Stark said Gordon believes S1070 is unconstitutional because it “will encourage racial profiling and unconstitutionally requires police to enforce federal laws.”

Gordon had initially planned to seek City Council approval for a lawsuit, but five members voiced their opposition to a city-funded lawsuit and he pulled the item from the council’s agenda earlier in the day because he lacked the votes. Stark said Gordon will solicit contributions to pay for the lawsuit.

The federal government may also take action over S1070. At an April 27 press conference, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called the law an “unfortunate one” and said that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security are considering their possibilities, including a court challenge.

“I think that is, I fear, subject to potential abuse. And I’m very concerned about the wedge that it could draw between communities that law enforcement is supposed to serve and those of us in law enforcement,” Holder said.

The bill, hailed by supporters as the toughest state-level illegal immigration law in the country, prohibits government entities from using so-called sanctuary city policies, such as barring police officers from inquiring about someone’s immigration status, and makes an illegal immigrant’s presence in the state a misdemeanor trespassing crime.

Critics allege that S1070 will open the door to racial profiling against Hispanics. Proponents such as Sen. Russell Pearce, the bill’s sponsor, and Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the bill into law on April 23, say they have take steps to ensure that Arizonans’ constitutional rights are protected. They said language in S1070 expressly forbids racial profiling, and Brewer ordered the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board to develop training for law enforcement officers on what constitutes reasonable suspicion.