人兽性交, Civil Rights Coalition Asks Court to Block South Carolina鈥檚 Anti-Immigrant Law
The Southern Poverty Law Center and other civil rights groups asked a federal judge today to block South Carolina鈥檚 anti-immigrant law from taking effect on Jan. 1 because it is unconstitutional, interferes with federal laws and would cause great harm in the state.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and other civil rights groups asked a federal judge today to block from taking effect on Jan. 1 because it is unconstitutional, interferes with federal laws and would cause great harm in the state.
鈥淚f this law goes into effect at the end of this month, the devastating impact will be immediate and irreparable,鈥� said Michelle Lapointe, the 人兽性交鈥檚 lead attorney. 鈥淭he experience of other states has made it clear the devastating social and economic upheaval聽of such laws.鈥�
The law, SB 20, subjects South Carolinians, including U.S. citizens and legal residents, to unlawful search and seizure and interferes with federal authority over immigration laws. It invites racial profiling by requiring police to demand 鈥減apers鈥� demonstrating citizenship or immigration status during traffic stops when they have 鈥渞easonable suspicion鈥� that a person lacks immigration status. It criminalizes South Carolinians for everyday interactions with undocumented individuals, such as driving someone to church or renting a room to a friend.
The South Carolina law, as well as similar laws in Georgia, Alabama, Utah and Indiana, were inspired by Arizona鈥檚 SB 1070. Federal courts have already blocked key provisions of these laws in Arizona, Indiana and Georgia. A federal court in Alabama allowed some parts of that state鈥檚 law to take effect, leading to devastating humanitarian consequences, while other provisions have been blocked. Coalition members also have a pending case against Utah鈥檚 law.
The coalition filed suit against the South Carolina law in October. Today鈥檚 hearing concerned a motion for preliminary injunction 鈥� which seeks to temporarily block the law pending a final ruling on its constitutionality. The U.S. Department of Justice also is challenging the law and argued today that it should be blocked. The judge said he will rule on the motion before the law鈥檚 Jan. 1 effective date.
鈥淎cross the country, we have been fighting anti-immigrant laws because they are unconstitutional, lead to racial profiling and widespread civil rights abuses,鈥� said Andre Segura, staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants鈥� Rights Project, who argued in court on behalf of the coalition. 鈥淭his misguided law should be blocked before it causes great harm and turns South Carolina into a police state.鈥�
Officials from other coalition members issued the following statements:
Victoria Middleton, executive director of the ACLU of South Carolina: 鈥淪outh Carolina must not become like Alabama, whose inhumane anti-immigrant law has created a crisis in the state, separated families and devastated the business community. This law will hurt all South Carolinians and must be blocked before it wreaks havoc in our state.鈥�
Linton Joaquin, general counsel of National Immigration Law Center: 鈥淚mmigrant and Latino communities across the state can look forward to聽a ruling from the court before the law's implementation date of January 1.聽We cannot overstate the devastation and chaos created by the implementation of these laws as we have witnessed in Alabama. We will continue to fight until this law is permanently blocked.鈥�
Victor Viramontes, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund national senior counsel: 鈥淲e have asked the Court to block South Carolina's destructive law that unfairly and illegally targets the Latino community with improper arrests and detentions. Together with Arizona, Alabama and others, South Carolina's anti-immigrant law threatens to create a patchwork immigration policy divorced from the Federal Government's uniform immigration system.鈥�
Diana Sen, senior counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF: 鈥淟atino immigrants continue to get unfairly blamed for all that ails our economy. This race-based demonization has no place in our post-segregation world. If unchecked, Latinos will be subjected to intensive status verifications every time they cross the street, and become the new second-class citizenry, an outcome abhorrent to anyone mindful of our country鈥檚 past.鈥�
In addition to the 人兽性交, the coalition in the South Carolina case includes the ACLU, the ACLU of South Carolina, the National Immigration Law Center, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and the law firms of Rosen, Rosen & Hagood and the Lloyd Law Firm.
