National GOP Group Signs Arizona Accord and Supports SB1070 Repeal

Tucson, Arizona – National Pro-immigrant Republican group Cafe Con Leche Republicans has signed the Arizona Accord, which follows in the path of the highly successful Utah Compact, which we also signed.

We believe coalitions that form around compacts or accords help moderate the tenor of the debate over immigration, while encouraging Congress – not the states – to address immigration reform. The states should focus on state issues, not federal issues.

We believe we are the first Republican organization to sign the Arizona Accord, helping provide a bipartisan flavor to this important initiative. We are very pleased that Arizona State Senator Jerry Lewis has also signed the accord. We hope that more Republican elected officials will sign the accord, and we’re disappointed that some Republicans politicians have given a ‘cold shoulder’ to the Arizona Accord, as reported in the media.

We support legislation to repeal SB1070, as this law is clearly unconstitutional and will lead to more racial profiling as well as continuing to damage Arizona’s economy and reputation.

The Maricopa County Sherif’f”s Office has for years been heavily involved in immigration enforcement, and the massive diversion of resources has led to large increases in violent crime in areas patrolled by the MCSO, over 400 sex crimes not investigated, etc., all of which happened during a period violent crime fell everywhere else in Arizona.

A few months after beginning an investigation of MCSO discriminatory policing practices,  the Bush administration stripped the MCSO of 287(g) street immigration enforcement authority, due to widespread complaints of racial profiling and not following program priorities. MCSO is the only police department in the nation to lose 287(g) authority.

The recent Department of Justice racial profiling study found that Latinos are four to nine times more likely to be stopped by Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputies, and 20% of the stops lacked probable cause to even make a traffic stop. The DOJ was correct in stripping the remaining 287(g) authority from the MCSO.

We believe the impetus for SB1070 was the initial loss of 287(g) authority, and to provide legal authority for the MCSO to continue heavy-handed immigration enforcement despite revocation of 287(g) authority, and to compel other Arizona police to embrace the MCSO’s policing model. The MCSO policing model clearly doesn’t work and is unconstitutional, and so SB1070 should be repealed.

Moreover, 287(g) is a deeply flawed program, as reported by the ICE inspector general. There are ongoing problems with lack of accountability, not following program priorities, and lack of sufficient supervision by ICE. SB1070 essentially mandates that all police departments implement 287(g) but without any authority or oversight from ICE, and even less accountability.

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About Us – Cafe Con Leche Republicans is a national organization of Republicans who welcome “New Americans”, defined as immigrants and descendants of recent immigrants who are going through the process of acculturation. Our mission is to make America and particularly the GOP, more welcoming to “New Immigrants” through political activism, “in-reach” and education within the Republican Party, and lobbying government to adopt more immigrant friendly policies. We also seek to bring more conservative and moderate “New Americans” to the Republican Party. This combination of efforts will strengthen the Republican Party, and lead more Republicans to embrace more welcoming policies for immigrants and their families. Cafe Con Leche Republicans has chapters in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.