A request by the Arizona Latino Republican Association to intervene with the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against SB 1070 was denied Tuesday by a federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton, who put the law’s most controversial portions on hold just a day before it was to be enacted, rejected the group’s arguments that its members may not be adequately represented by those defending the law.
As previously reported in La Plaza, ALRA became the first Latino group to formally throw their support behind Arizona’s anti-immigrant law.
“I’m challenging the Obama administration first and foremost as a state. When the government fails to do their job, the state has the right to protect its boundaries and its citizens. It’s shameful that the Obama administration is wasting all these resources attacking legislation that is following standard immigration law,” Jesse Hernandez, chairman of ALRA and himself a son of immigrants, said.
Bolton ruled that the group didn’t show inadequate representation by Brewer’s lawyers.
The group also drew the ire of other Latino groups critical of the law.
National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) Executive director Arturo Vargas said he was not surprised, “They represent the minute minority of the individuals in the Latino community. Poll after poll, survey after survey of the Latino population shows near unanimity in opposition of the law.”
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