The Hispanic National Bar Association Joins Other National Latino Organizations and Calls for an Economic Boycott of Arizona

WASHINGTON, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following the Hispanic National Bar Association's ("HNBA") identification of several grave constitutional issues present within Arizona Senate Bill 1070 ("SB 1070"), and in the wake of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's decision to sign SB 1070 into law, HNBA joins other national Latino organizations that call upon organizations and individuals to take five major steps to protest the inherent injustice that this law will perpetrate until it is repealed.  

"This law will likely lead to unconstitutional abuses of authority and to racial profiling as accepted police practice," said Roman D. Hernandez, HNBA National President. "The HNBA remains committed to the principles of fundamental fairness, due process, and equal justice under the law for all people, regardless of immigration status.  That is why HNBA continues to speak out against this law, and supports economic pressure intended to help repeal it because, regrettably, the seeds of hate, racism and discrimination spread like wildfire unless promptly addressed.  The HNBA has learned that at least one other state legislature currently has pending legislation that resembles the Arizona law.  We must exert economic pressure when necessary, such as in this instance," he added.  

The HNBA joins other national organizations in committing to not hold any major events, conferences or meetings in Arizona while this law is in force; to similarly discourage all regions and affiliates to avoid travel to Arizona; call on all other American institutions to consider choosing alternative locations for events, including Major League Baseball; and to call on all consumers and stakeholders to carefully consider whether the dollars they spend as consumers of goods and services could end up, either directly or indirectly, supporting the perpetuation of this unjust law.  Roman Hernandez further noted, "The HNBA commits to continuing this campaign until such time that SB1070 is repealed, reversed by the courts, and/or superseded by comprehensive federal immigration reform."  

"There is a solution to our nation's immigration problem that our Congressional leaders are working to devise, and HNBA remains committed to those efforts.  However, legislative efforts at the state, county or municipal levels that circumvent the authority of Congress on a federal issue like immigration cannot be allowed to stand.  As HNBA has made clear, SB 1070 is a short-sighted and likely unconstitutional response to a greater federal issue," concluded Hernandez.

The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) is an incorporated, nonpartisan, not-for-profit, national membership organization that represents the interests of the more than 100,000 Hispanic attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistants, and law students in the United States. Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories. For more information, please visit www.hnba.com.

SOURCE Hispanic National Bar Association