1199SEIU STATEMENT ON ARIZONA LAW SB 1070 COURT RULING

Court Inserts Reason into a Debate that is Out of Control

Now We Need Congress to Deliver

(New York, NY) — Yesterday, the U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Bolton issued a temporary restraining order against Arizona’s controversial anti-immigrant law SB1070. The decision was made based on the grounds that the U.S. Constitution requires our nation to have a unified immigration policy regulated by the federal government.  In response to the decision, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East issued the following statement: 

“Judge Bolton's decision demonstrates what we have known all along—a 50-state patchwork of conflicting, costly state laws will not solve our immigration problems. What we need is for Congress to pass smart, sensible solutions that replace chaos with order and restore the rule of law.

1199SEIU members in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington D.C. and Florida have sent thousands of phone calls and letters to elected officials calling for a fix to our broken immigration system. We’ve attended rallies and marches in all our operating states and in Washington, D.C. asking for real leadership and practical solutions.
But no matter the efforts by a diverse group of faith, immigrant and civil rights leaders--one party is dead set on blocking the immigration solutions that Americans are clamoring for.

Over the past months, the so called immigration ‘solutions’ Republicans have suggested include micro chipping illegal immigrants, putting landmines on the border, ending birthright citizenship, and using their “sixth sense” to spot illegal immigrants by the clothes and shoes they wear. This extreme, divisive rhetoric is not what is needed.  We need real immigration reform and action from the federal government.

It’s time for Republicans to stop testing the political winds of expediency and join Democrats to forge real solutions. In the meantime, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East urges the Court to move forward and put a final end to this law so we can get on with the critical work ahead to find a real, federal solution.”

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With 350,000 members in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington D.C., 1199 SEIU is the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in the country. Our mission is to achieve affordable, high quality healthcare for all.