Stop SB1070 Arizonification and criminalization of immigrants - Stand on the side of immigrant communities across the country

7:53 AM |

Immigrant Groups in Boston Ask Local Authorities to Restore Trust, and Oppose Arizona-policies as Supreme Court Hears SB1070 in Washington

Events in Cities Across Country Protest "Arizonification,"

Call for Local Protections for Immigrant Families

Who: Centro Presente
What: Restore Trust, Stop 'Arizonification' Rally and Press Conference
Where: In front of the Massachusetts State House, Boston
When: Wednesday, April 25th at 10:00 a.m

As part of the Just Communities campaign and in collaboration with a national day of action coordinated by the National Day Labor Organizing Network, (NDLON), Centro Presente and local allies will hold a rally and press conference on April 25th, the day the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the AZ SB1070 case. As the court debates Arizona's controversial immigration policy, the rally calls upon our local authorities to show that Massachusetts is not Arizona by creating a bright line between local police and immigration enforcement.

Immigrant groups cite the City of Boston's participation in the federal deportation program, "Secure Communities," as eroding local trust in law enforcement and having similar effects as Arizona's SB1070. Since implementation, the program has had a dangerous chilling effect on relations between immigrant communities and law enforcement and has accounted for a record of more than 400,000 deportations nationally in the past year.

"As part of a national movement in support of immigrant rights, we are pleased to be coordinating the local activities with allies like the Student Immigrant Movement (SIM), the Unitarian Universalist Association, and many others who stand in solidarity with our compañeros in Arizona and to push back against the promotion of similar laws here in Massachusetts," said Patricia Montes, Executive Director of Centro Presente.