Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Arizona Law: On Suspicion of Being Brown


SOA Watch

Arizona's governor just signed SB 1070 into law, effectively making it legal to racially profile in the state. The bill requires local law enforcement to question anyone they have "reasonable suspicion" of being undocumented. Translation: you could be pulled over for no other reason than that you are brown-skinned or speak Spanish.

That Gov. Jan Brewer could sign such a discriminatory law - one of the worst in the nation - is a moral outrage. We need to send a clear message that Arizona does not deserve economic support from the rest of the country. Tourism is a huge industry in the state - bringing in $18 billion last year. With the passage of SB 1070, it's time to say shame on Arizona and pledge not spend our dollars in a place where racial profiling is legal. Our friends at Presente.org have set up an online action through which you can send a message to the governor of Arizona, state and local tourism and commerce officials:

http://presente.org/campaigns/shame/org/soaw

SOA Watch supports the struggle for Justice for Immigrants. We understand that many immigrants to the United States are victims of U.S.-sponsored military training and atrocities in Latin America. In our fight to close the SOA, we continue to work towards a world that is free of suffering and violence. We recognize the SOA/ WHINSEC and the unjust immigration policies like SB 1070 as being parts of the same racist system of violence and domination. We ally ourselves with those most affected by SOA violence and their families in our effort to create a better world.

Many immigrants that come to the United States from Latin America are victims of SOA graduates who carry out violence against civilian populations in their own countries. Right now in Colombia, paramilitary groups are terrorizing villages, which causes displacement and migration. But this is hardly a new phenomenon. In the 1980s, during the civil wars in Central America, military and paramilitary groups uprooted people from their homes, and many fled to the United States.

The anti-immigrant politicians who passed SB 1070 may not care about justice and human rights, but they definitely care about the tourism industry that brings in billions of dollars to the state. We need to show them that their decisions have consequences. Will you join us in saying shame on Arizona and pledging to stay away from the state? It only takes a moment:

http://presente.org/campaigns/shame/org/soaw

Thank you and ¡Adelante!
SOA Watch


Photo: Migrant Quilt Project for those who died in the Sonoran Desert/Photo Brenda Norrell

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Censored News is published by censored journalist Brenda Norrell. A journalist for 27 years, Brenda lived on the Navajo Nation for 18 years, writing for Navajo Times, AP, USA Today, Lakota Times and other American Indian publications. After being censored and then terminated by Indian Country Today in 2006, she began the Censored Blog to document the most censored issues. She currently serves as human rights editor for the U.N. OBSERVER & International Report at the Hague and contributor to Sri Lanka Guardian, Narco News and CounterPunch. She was cohost of the 5-month Longest Walk Talk Radio across America, with Earthcycles Producer Govinda Dalton in 2008: www.earthcycles.net/
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