Democratic Leadership Responds to Noem v. Perdomo

PHOENIX – Today's U.S. Supreme Court decision puts Los Angeles residents’ constitutional freedoms at risk and opens the door for a slew of racially charged arrests, detainments, and deportations. Using its less transparent “shadow docket,” the Court lifted a lower-court injunction in California that prohibited federal officials from considering factors such as race, language, and job when detaining people for immigration issues. Noem v. Perdomo is not resolved, but the decision gives a dangerous green light for racial profiling in California that will have ramifications here and in other states.

Senate Democratic Leader Priya Sundareshan (LD18) said of the ruling, “Arizona knows all too well how racial profiling can harm a community. After SB1070, we saw our state's communities of color being targeted because of their skin color or the language they spoke; we saw victims reluctant to call the police or help with investigations due to fear of detainment and deportation; we saw children miss out on public benefits they were entitled to because their parents were scared of having them taken away; and we saw families cruelly separated.

We also know that those policies did not work then, and they won't work now. Unfortunately, by allowing ICE to stop people solely on their race, language, or job, the Supreme Court is now putting our country through those same dark days that Arizona experienced.

Today’s decision by our highest court is reprehensible and will no doubt lead to serious constitutional violations while the case is pending full resolution. The American people deserve better --- they deserve policies that help them achieve the American Dream and prosperity and we cannot accomplish that when our courts uphold an executive that seems bent on criminalizing people of color.”

House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos (LD11) said the lifted injunction in California sends a chilling message to the rest of the country.

“The United States Supreme Court just put a target on the back of anyone who looks Latino, or foreign, anyone who speaks another language, or even just has an accent, and anyone who works in a low-wage job. With no other 'probable cause' but the color of your skin or how you talk, your government can stop, detain and arrest you. That's what racial profiling is, and why this is such a dangerous moment for our nation and what's left of our Constitution. The Supreme Court once stood as a beacon of justice for the world, a check on legislative and executive power, that upheld our Constitution to help advance civil rights for hundreds of millions of people in our country. Whether corrupted by ideology, or fear of an authoritarian President and his rabid base, that beacon was extinguished on Monday.”

“This ruling raises serious concerns about the implications for civil rights and social justice,” Senate Democratic Assistant Leader Catherine Miranda (LD11), ranking Democrat on the Senate Military Affairs and Border Security Committee added. “Racial profiling undermines trust in law enforcement and disproportionately affects marginalized communities. Is this what we want in our communities? It's essential to advocate for policies that promote equality and protect individuals from discrimination. I have spoken about and warned the Republicans in the Senate over and over about the consequences of racial profiling, and they refuse to recognize the very real consequences of racist policies like this. We will push back every opportunity we have for our constituents.”

Assistant House Democratic Leader Nancy Gutierrez (LD18), a longtime public-school teacher in Tucson, added, “As a teacher during SB1070, I saw students afraid to come to school for fear they were putting their families at risk of deportation. They went without breakfast or lunch because families were too afraid to fill out paperwork. Students also went without medical treatment based on the fear that ICE would be called. This leads to students being distracted and anxious which doesn’t allow for learning. This ruling is detrimental to everyone.”