Supreme Court to Hear Arizona SB 1070 Case in April

The U.S. Supreme Court has set April 25 as the date it
will hear oral arguments in a case involving Arizona’s state
anti-immigration law, Senate Bill 1070.

Civil
and human rights groups have argued that the Arizona law conflicts with the
federal government’s authority over immigration enforcement and legalizes
racial profiling. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit previously
blocked some of the controversial aspects of the law deeming it as
unconstitutional. The state of Arizona is appealing
that ruling.

Following
news in December that the Court would be taking up S.B. 1070, Janet Murguía,
President and CEO of NCLR, said that  the “U.S. Supreme Court should rule
against Arizona to once and for all put an end to this complicated and foolish
patchwork of immigration policies that is taking root across this country.”

The
Leadership Conference and civil and human rights advocates have been
working to stop, challenge, and repeal laws similar to S.B. 1070 in Alabama,
Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. While there have been some successes, the hope
is that a favorable Supreme Court decision in April will decisively defeat
these laws.