Coalition: AZ Counterclaim A Distraction Tactic

PHOENIX, AZ – Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona has announced that the state of Arizona will introduce several counterclaims against the U.S. government in the ongoing litigation over SB 1070, Arizona's racial profiling law.

The following can be attributed to a coalition of rights groups that also filed a lawsuit challenging SB 1070.

“Arizona's counterclaim against the United States is a political stunt designed to distract from the reality that SB 1070's attempt to mandate racial profiling is unconstitutional. Governor Brewer and the attorney general are simply creating a legal sideshow that will do nothing to increase border security.
“SB 1070 is a misguided law that puts Arizona out of step with fundamental values of fairness and equality, and has no place in Arizona or America.”

The coalition includes MALDEF, the American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigration Law Center, Asian Pacific American Legal Center (a member of Asian American Center for Advancing Justice), ACLU of Arizona, National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The law firms of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP; Roush, McCracken, Guerrero, Miller & Ortega; and Altshuler Berzon LLP are acting as co-counsel in the case.

Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the “law firm of the Latino community,” MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access.