Thank Eric Holder for protecting civil rights crom CREDO ACTION 6JUL10

Thank Eric Holder for protecting civil rights Let's show him we have his back Clicking here will add your name to this petition: Attorney General Holder, I strongly support your decision to file a lawsuit to stop Arizona's SB 1070 from ever taking effect. Thank you for taking the necessary federal action to protect civil rights in a state where the governor and legislature have written racial discrimination into the law. Click here to add your name When the state of Arizona passed SB 1070 — legislation that effectively mandates racial profiling of Latinos — over 55,000 CREDO members joined you in urging Attorney General Eric Holder to file a lawsuit to prevent the law from ever going into effect. And today, that's just what he did. We know that there will be a backlash from people who oppose civil rights protections for Latinos and immigrants, so it's important that we show Attorney General Holder that we support his efforts to defend the Constitution and oppose state-mandated racial profiling. Click here to automatically sign our petition thanking him for taking the necessary federal action to protect civil rights in a state where the governor and legislature have written racial discrimination into the law. The federal government has a special role to play in situations like this. When states pass unconstitutional laws that clearly violate the civil rights of its citizens, the federal government must step in to protect those rights. SB 1070 violates the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable government search and seizure. And the Attorney General has taken an oath to defend the Constitution. Attorney General Holder has gone out on a limb to fulfill his duty to the Constitution so we cannot stand by as he is savaged by those who champion racial profiling of Latinos in general and SB 1070 in particular. Click here to automatically sign our petition to Attorney General Holder thanking him for filing suit to prevent this blatantly unjust and unconstitutional law from ever going into effect. We need to show that that Americans who believe in civil rights support the Department of Justice's lawsuit. Not only does SB 1070 require the police to investigate and detain anyone who could reasonably be suspected of being an undocumented immigrant, it actually makes it a crime not to have papers providing your immigration status. Without an injunction is obtained by the Department of Justice, the bill would go into effect in a few weeks, creating a unique and frightening situation within Arizona's borders where anyone who forgets to carry identification or papers proving immigration status could be picked up by police. Arizona will become a place where someone who appears to be a Latino or speaks English with an accent will be at constant risk of being stopped and interrogated by law enforcement. This deeply wrong-headed legislation is not only unconstitutional, but it demonizes and dehumanizes immigrants and puts them at risk. Undocumented immigrants who are victims of or witnesses to violent crime will be afraid to cooperate with authorities — which is why the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police opposes the bill. Attorney General Holder has taken a stand against an anti-American and unconstitutional attack on the civil rights of immigrants and Latinos. Let's show him we have his back. Click here to automatically sign our petition. Thank you for working for a better world. Becky Bond, Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets