Court Blocks Implementation of Anti-Immigrant Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2011

CONTACT
Adela de la Torre, NILC, (213) 674-2832; [email protected]
Elizabeth Beresford, (917) 498-9697 or (212) 549-2666; [email protected]

Law is Third of its Kind to be Blocked by Federal Courts

INDIANAPOLIS – A federal judge today blocked the implementation of a discriminatory Indiana law inspired by Arizona’s notorious SB 1070. The National Immigration Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit last month charging that the law authorizes police to make warrantless arrests of individuals based on assumed immigration status and criminalizes the mere use or acceptance of commonly used consular ID cards. The groups also charged in their lawsuit that the law will lead to racial profiling and trample upon the rights of all Indiana residents.

Judges in Arizona and Utah have blocked the implementation of similar anti-immigrant laws in those states, and the ACLU, NILC and others earlier this month filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against an anti-immigrant law in Georgia. The ACLU and NILC have also publicly announced their intention to legally challenge the most draconian anti-immigrant law passed June 3 in Alabama.

The following can be attributed to Shiu-Ming Cheer, staff attorney, NILC:

“Today’s decision will prevent countless Indianans of color from suffering unnecessary and unconstitutional rights violations simply because their legislators passed a draconian law. We are pleased that the court has prevented the most pernicious and discriminatory elements of this law from going into effect, and we look forward to the day that it is permanently removed from Indiana’s law books.”

The following can be attributed to Andre Segura, staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project:

“We are pleased the court has blocked this discriminatory law from taking effect. Wherever civil liberties are threatened, be it in Utah, Arizona, Indiana or elsewhere, we will continue to challenge unconstitutional laws like these.”

Read the court’s order granting the preliminary injunction. (PDF)

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