A sweeping new immigration enforcement bill signed into law by the governor of Arizona on Friday has met with immediate opposition from students and others around the nation.
The law, known as SB 1070, has many elements, but its most controversial is a mandate that police officers to detain people they believe to be in the United States illegally.
President Obama on Friday described the law as a threat to “trust between police and our communities” and to “basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.” The Archbishop of Los Angeles has compared the law’s provisions to Nazism.
SB 1070 provoked mass student protests even before it was signed — on Thursday morning more than a thousand Phoenix-area high school students walked out of classes and marched on the state capitol to demand that governor Jan Brewer veto the bill.
Dream Activist, a website by and for students organizing for immigration reform, reports that rallies and vigils were planned for Saturday in California, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Washington DC.
Opponents of the law are using the hashtags #SB1070 and #LegalizeAZ on Twitter.
Update | Add Connecticut to the list of states hosting anti-SB1070 protests — Yale students staged a mock ICE raid on campus on Thursday.
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April 26, 2010 at 7:02 am
Students Organize Against Arizona Immigration Law | Rocket Articles
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April 26, 2010 at 11:28 am
Riots begin after SB1070 is signed into law « The New School Reoccupied
[…] Phoenix Class War Council reports on more actions resisting SB7010 including a lockdown and statewide walkouts involving thousands of high school and college students. Possibly related posts: […]
April 26, 2010 at 10:19 pm
stopdainsanity2
Children are Watching
by stopdainsanity2
When I entered kindergarten – I was put into a class for the mentally retarded. Because my skin was brown my teacher assumed I did not speak English and required special bilingual support which was not available at the time. Yes – I was a Mexican-American citizen child AND I spoke English.
It literally took 2 weeks for my parents to force the school to place me in the mainstream kindergarten class — even though I could respond to questions in English. At the time if was easier for frustrated- overworked teachers (not bad people) to send me to the special needs class – no questions asked – based on my skin color. Although the error was corrected, as a child I never lost the feeling I was not welcomed and somehow my rights as a citizen were not equal to those of white americans. Be careful – children are watching.