Arizona CEO's Say YA BASTA to Immigration Legislation

In a letter sent to AZ Senate President Russell Pearce last week, several CEO's of major employers and several businesses and civic groups wrote, "Arizona should be pushing for federal action on immigration and border issues."

As a result of their efforts, combined with the ongoing work of civil rights groups, activists, educators, students, and families, five anti-immigration bills were defeated last week. No motions to reconsider them were filed on Monday, the last day to do so. Community leaders working for immigrants' rights breathed a sigh of relief for a moment, before quickly fighting against the 20+ additional pieces of anti-immigrant legislation in AZ.

Here's a summary of what was defeated:

• SB 1308 and SB 1309 - two bills that challenged birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
• SB 1405 - would require hospitals to acquire immigration status of patients before providing care
• SB 1407 - would require schools to collect immigration data on students
• SB 1611 - 30-page immigration omnibus bill which contained similar provisions like the other bills listed above (written by Sen. Pearce, author of SB 1070)

You can read the entire letter from the AZ CEO's. While they don't seem to necessarily be pushing for better pathways to citizenship, they clearly are looking for better, FEDERAL solutions, that address the immigration issues faced by families every day. They want AZ to be focused on fixing it's broken economy.

The CEO's ended their letter with "Together, we can get results."

So what does working together look like?

~ mM

AZ SB1611 = NO College for Undocumented Immigrant Students

Last night (2/22/11), the AZ Senate Appropriations Committee voted 7-6 in favor of SB1611, an omnibus bill that would ban undocumented immigrants from ALL public services. This would now include college and driving, among other things.

If the new bill is passed by the full Senate, full House, and signed by the Governor, SB 1611 would preclude undocumented students' admission to state colleges and universities entirely. That means Pima Community College, UA, ASU, NAU, and all other state institutions's doors would be closed to any student who can't prove their U.S. residency or citizenship.

According to a recent AZ Daily Star article, Sen. Pearce, author of AZ's infamous SB1070 and many other anti-immigrant bills, said,

"It is irrelevant that the fees these students are paying may help keep tuition down for Arizona residents. "They can't be employed" in this country, Pearce said, so their education is not a benefit to Arizona. And he disputed the contention out-of-state tuition covers the full cost of educating students at universities or community colleges. Read the full article.

Many thought SB1070 was the worst anti-immigrant legislation created in recent history. However, it was only the beginning. Now, more than ever, we need YOU to get involved. Raise your voice! Stay aware! Stop this bill from becoming law!

• Call AZ Senators. Tell them you are against this bill.
• Attend a rally.
  
• Use Facebook, Twitter, texting, calls, emails to tell your friends to get involved.
• Stay updated with Border Action Network on anti-immigrant and anti-education legislation. SB1611 is only bill. There are others.
  

Our struggle, together, continues...