Washington, D.C. — On April 25 the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of Arizona’s S.B. 1070 and similar state-level anti-immigrant bills in Arizona v. U.S.—the most important immigration case in a generation. With so much at stake, the Center for American Progress will host a discussion on Wednesday, April 4, concerning the potential ramifications of the Court’s decision with Georgia State Representative and House Minority Leader Stacy Abrams; Professor Lucas Guttentag of Yale Law School, who is also the founding director of the ACLU’s Immigration Rights Project; and Judge U.W. Clemon, Alabama’s first black federal judge, retired from his service in the northern district of the state.
S.B. 1070, otherwise known as the “papers please law,” makes it a crime to be without status and authorizes the police to ask for documentation from anyone they have a reasonable suspicion of being in the country without legal status. It undermines the basic notion of equality enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, encourages racial profiling, and legalizes harassment and discrimination.
Please join the Center for American Progress’s Immigration and Legal Progress Teams for “Why Courts Matter: Racial Profiling and the Arizona Immigration Law,” a presentation to be moderated by Mike Sacks, Supreme Court correspondent for The Huffington Post. We will highlight the role that the federal courts play in immigration policy, contextualize the Supreme Court’s hearing, and discuss the consequences of the Court’s decision on whether all people will be treated equally under one law or subjected to a patchwork of harsh state anti-immigration laws that drive families further underground and threaten community cohesion and safety.
WHO:
Introductory remarks:
Marshall Fitz, Director of Immigration Policy, Center for American Progress
Featured panelists:
State Rep. Stacey Abrams (D-GA), House Minority Leader, Georgia General Assembly
Lucas Guttentag, Robina Foundation Distinguished Senior Research Scholar in Law and Lecturer in Law, Yale Law School
Judge U.W. Clemon, Retired federal judge from the Northern District of Alabama
Moderator:
Mike Sacks, Supreme Court Correspondent, The Huffington Post
WHEN:
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
RSVP:
RSVP for this event
For more information, call 202.682.1611.
LOCATION:
Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005
Map & Directions 
Nearest Metro: Blue/Orange Line to McPherson Square or Red Line to Metro Center
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