MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 25th, 2012

For more information, contact: Steven Choi Executive Director 718.460.5600 schoi@minkwon.org

MinKwon Calls for Action, Broader Reform After Supreme Court’s Decision On Arizona's SB 1070 Law

Flushing, NY: The MinKwon Center for Community Action called for renewed action and broader reform in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision today striking down key parts of Arizona’s SB 1070 law and upholding the "show me your papers" provision.  

The Supreme Court’s decision struck down three of the four provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070, which would have criminalized undocumented immigrants and their efforts to work or try to find work, and would have authorized police to arrest anyone that police believed was undocumented, without a warrant.  The Court, however, upheld the "show me your papers" Section 2B provision that requires police to demand immigration papers from anyone they stop and suspect of being undocumented.  The Court allowed that this provision may be challenged on other grounds once it goes into effect.

MinKwon President S.J. Jung said, “While the Supreme Court rightfully struck down many parts of Arizona’s discriminatory SB 1070 law, its failure to invalidate the shameful “show me your papers” provision is a serious red flag.  It allows the outsourcing of Federal immigration enforcement to local police, and may open the floodgates of discrimination and racial profiling. Let's not forget that even U.S. citizens can be ensnared in a dragnet set by Arizona's ‘show-me-your-papers’ law.  In New York’s setting, such a decision is a slap in the faces of those who are working hard to fix the ‘stop-and-frisk’ policy. It is also important to note that an anti-immigrant policy drags our nation's fragile economy deeper into a prolonged recession. It is a lose-lose proposition for all.”

 “The Supreme Court decision is another wakeup call to the conscience of our nation as well as our immigrant community. It shows that our nation’s immigrants and concerned citizens must join together to mobilize our communities and voters to protect our civil rights and push real immigration reform to keep our families together and end our communities' suffering."

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The MinKwon Center was established in 1984 to meet the needs and concerns of the Korean American community through immigrant rights and political empowerment.  The MinKwon Center has emerged as a leading organization in building a sustained community for marginalized individuals, including recent immigrants, minorities, low-income residents, limited English proficient persons, elderly and youth.