State of Play Nat'l Call on Supreme Court SB1070 hearing

from Shuya Ohno, National Field Organizer, National Immigration Forum

The discussion was led by moderator, Jeanne Butterfield, Special counsel at the Raben Group. We were joined by Congressman Raul M. Grijalva (AZ-7) who spoke about what he witnessed inside and outside the Supreme Court. Arguments at the Supreme Court yesterday. Omar Jadwat from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) summarized the oral arguments that were presented, and Linton Joaquin, General Counsel, National Immigration Law Center (NILC) discussed the pending cases on racial profiling and discrimination.

Jen Smyers, Associate Director at Church World Service described all the impactful actions undertaken by communities of faith during and leading up to the Supreme Court hearing, and Rich Stolz, Senior Organizer with the Center of Community Change (CCC) summarized the collaborative organizing efforts that saw close to 1000 people gather in peaceful protest against SB1070.

You can listen to the recording of the call here: http://www.immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/2012/SCOTUS_042612.mp3 (Please note: This discussion is off the record, and is not attributable for press. For press inquiries, please contact Katherine Vargas at  kvargas@immigrationforum.org .)

What do we need to do now?

- Demonstrate the real world impact of Arizona-style laws. Gather stories on the impact of these laws in Arizona, Alabama and other states, and move them into the media.

- Continue to protest and demonstrate.  We need one law, not 50.  Discriminatory laws like SB1070 must be struck down.

- Be ready for the ruling: we'll need to respond immediately (whatever the court decides).  In the event of a negative ruling, be prepared to respond by bringing the point home that elections matter, and holding politicians accountable for their grandstanding against immigrants and their families.