ACLU Issues Travel Warnings to Arizona

I continue to maintain that bigotry and intolerance is not good for tourism and/or attracting progressive businesses. Now, in what can only be a tourism disaster, Arizona is the subject of travel warnings by 28 affiliates of the ACLU who are warning of potential unwarranted arrests under Arizona's new anti-Hispanic immigration law. The affiliates are also offering information that can be downloaded and printed which advises those who may be improperly arrested for "looking" like illegals as to how to protect their rights. Perhaps to make up for lost tourism the Arizona tourism board can start marketing to the Klan and other white supremacist groups since the new immigration law - which is already being challenged in five court suits - is clearly racist in its intent. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post:
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PHOENIX -- The nation's top civil liberties group on Wednesday issued travel alerts for Arizona, saying the state's new law cracking down on illegal immigrants could lead to racial profiling and warrantless arrests.
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American Civil Liberties Union affiliates in Arizona, New Mexico and 26 other states put out the warnings in advance of the Fourth of July weekend. The Arizona chapter has received reports that law enforcement officers are already targeting some people even though the law doesn't take effect until July 29, its executive director said.
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The Arizona law requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person's immigration status if officers have a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally. It also makes it a state crime for legal immigrants to not carry their immigration documents, . . .
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[T]he ACLU still believes that officers will inappropriately target minorities. "We have a long history of racial profiling in this state, and this is basically going to really exacerbate that problem," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona. The ACLU's warnings were accompanied by a "bust card" that citizens or non-citizens can print out or download to their mobile phone instructing them about their rights during encounters with police.
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Besides ACLU affiliates in Arizona and New Mexico, chapters in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming issued the alerts.
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Welcome to Amerika!