The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

CONTACTS ON SITE:
Adela de la Torre, NILC, delatorre@nilc.org
Laura Rodriguez, MALDEF, (310) 956-2425
Jon O'Neill, ACLU of Arizona, (602) 773-6007; joneill@acluaz.org

CONTACTS OFF SITE:
Maria Archuleta, ACLU, (212) 519-7808 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Karin Wang, APALC, (213) 241-0234 or 999-5640; kwang@apalc.org
Marco Loera, NDLON, (602) 373-3859; mloera@ndlon.org
Leila McDowell, NAACP, (202) 463-2940 or (202) 463-2940 ext. 1021

ACLU and Other Groups in Court TODAY At 10:00 a.m. PDT to Block Implementation of Arizona's Racial Profiling Law

U.S. Department of Justice Argument to Follow Today

PHOENIX

Today at 10 a.m. PDT, the American Civil
Liberties Union and a coalition of civil rights organizations will argue
in a federal court in Phoenix that Arizona's racial profiling law,
known as SB 1070, should be blocked while their lawsuit against the
unconstitutional measure is being litigated. Immediately after the
hearing, the coalition will be available for questions from the press.
The U.S. Department of Justice will also ask the court to block SB 1070
in a hearing at 1:30 p.m. PDT today.

The civil rights coalition filed its
lawsuit challenging the extreme law on May 17, charging that it invites
racial profiling, interferes with federal law and violates various
constitutional guarantees including the First Amendment, equal
protection and the right to travel.

The coalition includes the ACLU,
MALDEF, National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Asian Pacific American
Legal Center (APALC) - a member of the Asian American Center for
Advancing Justice - ACLU of Arizona, National Day Laborer Organizing
Network (NDLON) and the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP). The law firms of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
and Altshuler Berzon LLP are acting as co-counsel in the case.

WHAT:
Court hearing on Friendly House, et al. v. Whiting, et al.
and press availability with lawyers from the civil rights coalition.
Some clients represented by the coalition will also be available for
interviews.

WHO:
Omar
Jadwat, staff attorney, ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project and Nina Perales, Southwestern Regional
Counsel, MALDEF will present arguments at the hearing. Karen Tumlin, Managing Attorney, NILC;
Lucas Guttentag, Director, ACLU
Immigrants' Rights Project; Julie Su,
Litigation Director, APALC; Chris
Newman, Legal Director, NDLON; and co-counsel from ACLU of
Arizona and Munger Tolles as well as plaintiffs from Friendly House, et al. v. Whiting, et al.
will also be available for press questions.

WHEN:
Hearing today at 10 a.m. PDT
Outdoor press conference and press
availability outside courtroom to follow immediately after hearing

WHERE:
Courtroom 200 (Special Procedures
Courtroom)
Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse
401 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona

The motion for a preliminary
injunction can be found at: www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights-racial-justice/friendly-house-et-al-v-whiting-et-al-plaintiffs-motion-preliminary-

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666