Immigration Debate Hits Local and National Stage

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)The U.S. Supreme Court will once again be the focus of a major demonstration tomorrow as the Court hears arguments on the legality of SB1070 – Arizona’s notoriously anti-immigrant bill. Metro Council allies DC Jobs with Justice, Jews United for Justice (JUFJ), and CASA de Maryland will join the national AFL-CIO, NAACP, and more to say that upholding this law would mean “upholding Arizona’s attempt at state-directed discrimination, racial profiling by state and local law enforcement, and the tearing apart of immigrant families.” The fight over immigration policy is simultaneously coming to the fore in the District, where the City Council unanimously co-sponsored the “Immigration Detainer Compliance Amendment Act of 2011.” The bill, which set limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Secure Communities Program, “draw[s] a bright line between local police and federal immigration enforcement” wrote DC JwJ Executive Director Nikki Daruwala in a recent Washington Post Letter to the Editor. “We work hard to build a diverse and productive workforce and community, and we believe that immigrants are an integral part of that effort,” continued Daruwala. On April 27 a press conference will be held in support of the Detainer Compliance Act and on May 4 members of JUFJ will deliver support letters for the bill written at their recent Labor Seder.