ADVISORY: MALDEF, ACLU And NILC To Announce Challenge To AZ Racial Profiling Law At Press Conference – Civil Rights Leaders Dolores Huerta And Richard Chavez Joined By Famed Musician And Arizona Native Linda Ronstadt To Condemn New Law

CONTACT:
Maria Archuleta, ACLU, (212) 519-7808 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Lindsay Nordstrom, ACLU of Arizona, (602) 773-6005
Laura Rodriguez, MALDEF, (310) 956-2425
Grace Chang, MALDEF, (909) 706-5147
Donald Gatlin, MALDEF, (202) 821-7923

PHOENIX – On Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. (MST), MALDEF, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Arizona and the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) will hold a news conference on the steps of the State Capitol Executive Tower in Phoenix, Arizona to announce that they are preparing to challenge Arizona’s extreme new law, which requires law enforcement to question people about their immigration status during everyday police encounters and criminalizes immigrants for failing to carry their “papers.” The unconstitutional law, the groups say, encourages racial profiling, endangers public safety and betrays American values.

Speakers will include Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel; Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arizona; Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America; Richard Chavez, civil rights leader; and Linda Ronstadt, multi-Grammy winning artist and human rights advocate.

Fifteen years ago, MALDEF, ACLU and NILC successfully challenged Proposition 187 in the state of California, where a voter-approved initiative required proof of legal status to access virtually all public services. The enactment of Prop 187, as it was commonly referred to, tore apart schools and communities across the state as fear and suspicion became pervasive, and the state wasted tens of millions of dollars defending a law ultimately struck down as unconstitutional.

WHAT:
News Conference to Condemn SB1070, MALDEF, ACLU, ACLU of Arizona, and NILC Promise Legal Challenge

WHO:
Richard Chavez, Civil Rights Leader (brother of Cesar Chavez); Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder of United Farm Workers of America and Founder of The Dolores Huerta Foundation; Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF; Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arizona; and Linda Ronstadt, Recording Artist and Human Rights Advocate

WHEN:
April 29, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. MST

WHERE:
The steps of the State Capitol Executive Tower
1700 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007-2890

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