Ground Zero of the Immigrant Justice Movement in Arizona

UUSC partner joins front lines of Phoenix protests

I was reading a blog from one of our economic-justice partners when the news broke that a federal judge in Arizona had issued an injunction blocking key parts of the state's new anti-immigrant law from taking effect. Fernando Garcia, campaign coordinator for UUSC's partner the Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center in Springdale, Ark., has been in Phoenix all week supporting the drive for human and immigrant rights as he participates in prayer vigils, rallies, civil disobedience, and counterprotests designed to express national outrage at the Arizona law.

"People here are fighting vigorously to stop this legislation in its tracks and win humane solutions to immigration," Garcia said in his blog post. "If it doesn't stop here, we better believe it will be knocking on our doors soon."

The Arizona law became effective today, July 29, but without the most egregious provisions that were put on hold by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton. She issued a preliminary injunction against sections that call on police officers to check a person's immigration status if there is a "reasonable suspicion" that someone may be undocumented and that require immigrants to carry their papers at all times.

The judge did not rule on the merits of the case but prevented enforcement of the most controversial sections until the litigation has reached a final conclusion, probably by the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Justice Department after President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder strongly criticized the new law as unconstitutional on a number of levels.

UUSC has condemned the Arizona law in the strongest terms, citing the anti-immigrant hostility it expresses and the human-rights violations it encourages, among many other reasons. (Read the full statement: "Immigrant Rights are Human Rights.")

After reading some of the news stories about the judge's ruling, including reports in the New York Times and the Arizona Republic, it was refreshing to read Fernando Garcia's account from the front lines of the mounting immigrant justice movement in Phoenix. The stories, messages, and analyses are very powerful, and paint a different picture than what we see in most of the mainstream media.  

"Regardless of the injunction, the reality on the ground is incredible," said Garcia. "I heard stories of homeowners walking away from their houses to get out of the state. One [Arizona Interfaith Alliance for Worker Justice] workers center member said four families have moved out of Arizona from his block alone. He mentioned that a popular supermarket chain has closed 70 of their stores since the law was enacted only of few months ago.

"Innumerable amounts of people have ripped out their roots to flee the political environment, but each family's departure leaves a hole in the economy and the social fabric of those who remain."

The Northwest Arkansas Workers Justice Center is a community-based organization that advances the rights of low-wage and immigrant workers through organizing for improved wages and working conditions. The Center educates and supports workers to be effective advocates, while building local and national partnerships to involve the broader community in the struggles of workers in Northwest Arkansas. Several local police departments in Northwest Arkansas participate in the federal 287(g) program, which deputizes local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.