Utah Coalition of La Raza et al v. Herbert et al

Filing 52

NOTICE of LODGED PROPOSED AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF by Asian American Justice Center re 51 MOTION for Leave to File Amicus Curiae Brief (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit) (Marsden, Milo)

Exhibit 1
List and Description of Amici Curiae

Asian American Justice Center: The Asian American Justice Center (“AAJC”), a member of
the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, is a national non-profit, non-partisan
organization working to advance the human and civil rights of Asian Americans and build and
promote a fair and equitable society for all. Founded in 1991 and based in Washington, D.C.,
AAJC engages in litigation, public policy, advocacy, and community education and outreach on
a range of issues, including anti-discrimination. AAJC is committed to defending the rights of
all Americans, including immigrants, communities of color, and other minorities.
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services: The Arab Community Center for
Economic and Social Services (“ACCESS”) is a 40-year old human services organization
committed to the development of the Arab-American community, and the greater community, in
all aspects of its economic and cultural life. To support this goal, ACCESS provides a wide
range of human and cultural services, as well as advocacy work. A leading “core value” of
ACCESS is empowering the community by challenging them to become involved in civic
engagement. It is only through participation at all facets of society that true “integration” can
come to fruition in the United States of America and the legacy of racism will fade into history.
Essential to that philosophy is a requirement that the laws of this country are not designed to
encourage racial and ethnic profiling.

Asian American Institute: Asian American Institute (“AAI”), a member of the Asian American
Center for Advancing Justice, is a pan-Asian, non-partisan, non-profit organization located in
Chicago, Illinois, whose mission is to empower the Asian American community through
advocacy, coalition-building, education, and research. AAI's programs include legal advocacy,

-2-

community organizing, and leadership development. AAI strives to eradicate the illegal and
unjust discrimination that Asian Americans face, including discrimination against those who
look or sound foreign. The enforcement of laws such as HB 497 worsens discrimination against
communities of color. Accordingly, AAI has a strong interest in the outcome of this case and in
the enforcement of HB 497.

Asian Law Caucus: Founded in 1972, the Asian Law Caucus (“ALC”), a member of the Asian
American Center for Advancing Justice, is a non-profit organization advancing the legal and
civil rights of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. ALC is the nation’s oldest
legal organization serving Asian Americans and is dedicated to the pursuit of equality and justice
for all sectors of society. We advocate for the full and equal integration of immigrant
communities in a variety of contexts and focus particularly on the needs of Asian and Pacific
Islander immigrants.

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO: The Asian Pacific American Labor
Alliance (“APALA”), AFL-CIO, is the first and only national organization of Asian Pacific
American union members and allies. It organizes and works with Asian Pacific American
workers, many of them immigrants, to build the labor movement and address exploitative
conditions in the workplace. APALA has a longstanding interest in protecting the rights of
Asian Pacific Americans and has participated in a number of amicus briefs before the courts on
these issues.

-3-

Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California: The Asian Pacific American
Legal Center (“APALC”), a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, was
founded in 1983 and is the nation’s largest non-profit public interest law firm devoted to the
Asian Pacific Islander community. APALC provides direct legal services and uses impact
litigation, public advocacy, and community education to obtain, safeguard, and improve the civil
rights of the Asian Pacific Islander community. APALC serves 15,000 individuals and
organizations each year through direct services, outreach, training, and technical assistance. Its
primary areas of work include workers’ rights, anti-discrimination, immigrant welfare,
immigration and citizenship, voting rights, and hate crimes. APALC advocates for the full and
equal integration of immigrant communities in a variety of contexts and focuses particularly on
the needs of Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants.

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles: The Coalition for Humane
Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (“CHIRLA”) is a membership-based non-partisan, non-profit
organization located in Los Angeles, California. CHIRLA’s mission is to work for and empower
its membership through advocacy, education, and organizing. This is done by working in
coalitions at the local, state, and national levels, with diverse segments of the community from
household workers, street vendors, and day laborers to both high school and college students. In
Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department currently adheres to its own Special Order 40,
which prohibits its officers from initiating contact in order to determine an individual’s
immigration status. Laws such as HB 497 are the antithesis of Special Order 40; while
inevitably leading to discrimination against communities of color, they are also severely
detrimental to public safety as people become more reluctant to report crimes to the police. In

-4-

California, CHIRLA has also directly dealt with the very real effects of statewide Proposition
187, which (before it was declared unconstitutional) attempted to deny access to social services,
health care, and public education to undocumented immigrants. CHIRLA’s interest in this case
is based upon its mission and experience with issues such as Special Order 40 and Proposition
187.

Comunidades Unidas: Comunidades Unidas is a state-wide organization dedicated to
eliminating ethnic disparities through grassroots outreach, education, capacity-building, and
advocating for long-term policy change. Working with immigrants and refugees throughout
Utah, we help families access services and information crucial to their health and well-being,
understand and navigate Utah’s social, political and legal systems, and develop the skills and
training they need to become part of U.S. society. Because we firmly believe that integration is a
two-way process, we also work with the larger community to help dispel myths and stereotypes
about our ethnic communities and to ensure that the rights of immigrants and refugees are
respected in the creation and implementation of all policies and practices. We feel that
legislation such as HB 497 jeopardizes the important work we are doing both by undermining the
trust the immigrant community has in the larger community and by sanctioning racial profiling,
xenophobia and discrimination against minority populations.

Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center: Heartland Alliance's National
Immigrant Justice Center (“NIJC”) is a Chicago-based non-governmental organization dedicated
to safeguarding the rights of immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors and
victims of human trafficking. By partnering with more than 1,000 pro bono attorneys from the

-5-

nation’s leading law firms, NIJC provides direct legal services to approximately 10,000
individuals annually. NIJC's direct legal services work informs its impact litigation, advocacy
and educational initiatives, as it promotes human rights on a local, regional, national, and
international stage.

Inclusion Center for Community and Justice: The Inclusion Center is a human relations nonprofit organization based in Salt Lake City whose mission is to eliminate prejudice, bigotry and
discrimination. The center develops inclusive solutions to promote respect for all people through
conflict resolution, education, advocacy and empowerment. We believe that the HB 497 “Illegal
Immigration Enforcement Act” will encourage racial, religious and ethnic profiling. It will also
lead to distrust between communities of color and local police officers. Over time this bill will
create a major fracture in community police relations which will result in an increase in victims
and crime.

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: The principal mission of the Lawyers’
Committee is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice under law. The Lawyers’
Committee’s major objective is to use the skills and resources of the bar to obtain equal
opportunity for minorities by addressing factors that contribute to racial justice and economic
opportunity. Given our nation’s history of racial discrimination, de jure segregation, and the de
facto inequities that persist, the Lawyers’ Committee’s primary focus is to represent the interest
of racial and ethnic minorities, and other victims of discrimination, where doing so can help to
secure justice for all racial and ethnic minorities. The Lawyers’ Committee has demonstrated an

-6-

organizational commitment in the defense of immigrant civil liberties, recognizing that an attack
on immigrant groups is an attack on all people of color residing in the United States.

Japanese American Citizens League: The Japanese American Citizens League (“JACL”) is the
oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization in the United States. It was founded
in 1929 and has over one hundred chapters throughout the United States, including some in the
State of Utah. The JACL has advocated on behalf of the civil rights of all persons, including
persons of Japanese ancestry. During World War II, the JACL opposed the mass incarceration
of persons of Japanese ancestry and, after the War, helped to repeal discriminatory state
legislation known as 'alien land laws.' The JACL has supported civil rights legislation to end
discrimination in housing, employment, naturalization, and voting. The JACL was one of the
principal organizations supporting federal legislation which provided monetary redress to
Japanese Americans wrongly incarcerated during World War II.

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association: The National Asian Pacific American Bar
Association (“NAPABA”) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys,
judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000
attorneys and over 60 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. NAPABA’s members
include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and nonprofit
attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. Since its inception in 1988,
NAPABA has served as the national voice for Asian Pacific Americans in the legal profession
and has promoted justice, equity and opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans. NAPABA
engages in civil rights advocacy on various fronts and has a particular interest in ensuring that

-7-

HB 497 is not enforced because individuals should not be subjected to heightened police scrutiny
and should not be burdened with a presumption of illegality on the basis of their perceived
“foreignness” in appearance.

National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum: The National Asian Pacific American
Women’s Forum (“NAPAWF”) is the only national, multi-issue Asian and Pacific Islander
women’s organization in the country. NAPAWF’s mission is to build a movement to advance
social justice and human rights for Asian and Pacific Islander women and girls. NAPAWF
opposes enforcement-only immigration policies and programs that have a disproportionate and
harmful impact on immigrant women, girls, and their families given their particular
vulnerabilities within the immigration and justice systems due to their lower economic status,
limited access to education and resources, and limited English speaking abilities.

National Council of La Raza: The National Council of La Raza (“NCLR”) - the largest national
Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States - works to improve
opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated communitybased organizations (CBOs), NCLR reaches millions of Hispanics each year in 41 states, Puerto
Rico, and the District of Columbia. NCLR works through two primary, complementary
approaches: (1) capacity-building assistance to support and strengthen Hispanic CBOs especially those that serve low-income and disadvantaged Latinos; and (2) applied research,
policy analysis, and advocacy to encourage adoption of programs and policies that equitably
serve Hispanics. NCLR believes that state laws that attempt to create distinct immigration

-8-

enforcement schemes result in large-scale discrimination against Latinos regardless of their
immigration status, and are preempted by federal immigration laws.

National Guestworker Alliance: The National Guestworker Alliance (“NGA”) is a membership
organization representing thousands of workers across sectors and industries who enter the
United States through the U.S. guestworker program, including members who have worked in
Utah. The NGA was formed as the Alliance of Guestworkers in the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina, when thousands of guestworkers were brought to the United States to work in the Gulf
Coast and subjected to forced labor. Organizing in labor camps across the Gulf Coast,
guestworkers formed a vehicle for building power and shifting the national understanding of the
guestworker program. Today, NGA is a national organization with guestworker members
working across many industries, including metal workers, construction workers, landscapers,
factory workers, food processing workers, janitors, and hotel workers. Our members frequently
engage in local and national policy development to protect civil, labor, and constitutional rights,
combat discrimination, and support dignified work and just migration. Should HB 497 go
forward, our members would be directly affected and subjected to racial profiling and
discrimination.

National Korean American Service & Education Consortium: The National Korean
American Service & Education Consortium (“NAKASEC”) is a grassroots-based organization
founded in 1994 to advance a progressive voice and promote the full participation of Korean
Americans within a diverse, national social justice movement. Key political events during the
1990s, including the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest and the passage of state and federal anti-

-9-

immigrant legislation, prompted local community centers to come together to form NAKASEC.
Based in Los Angeles with a D.C. branch office, NAKASEC also has affiliates in Los Angeles
(The Korean Resource Center) and in Chicago (The Korean American Resource & Cultural
Center). For more than a decade, NAKASEC and its affiliates have conducted campaigns,
programs, policy advocacy and community education on the importance of protecting and
advancing the rights of immigrants. There are 1.5 million Korean Americans in the U.S., of
whom more than 65% are immigrants, and are thus directly impacted by policies related to
immigrants and immigration reform. Roughly 5,400 Korean Americans live and work in Utah
and they are a growing population within the state. The passage and implementation of HB 497
heightens the fear and concern in our community of legalized racial profiling. For the above
reasons, NAKASEC signs on as an amicus curiae.

National Tongan American Society: The National Tongan American Society (“NTAS”) is a
non-profit organization whose mission is to lessen health disparities, improve family lives,
increase positive community involvement and elevate the voices and perspectives of the Pacific
Islander community to build a more just and inclusive society in Utah. As an organization that
advocates on behalf of a community that continues to be affected by racial profiling, NTAS joins
this brief given the harsh impact that HB 497 will have on immigrants in the state of Utah.
NTAS is especially concerned that this policy will result in community members becoming more
hesitant to contact police in times of need or emergencies out of fear that there may be negative
immigration consequences. NTAS joins this brief because we oppose policies that undermine
trust between police and immigrant communities and diminish law enforcement’s goal of
keeping communities safe.

-10-

New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice: The New Orleans Workers’ Center for
Racial Justice (“Workers’ Center”) is a membership organization that was founded in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in response to the structural exclusion of African Americans and
the brutal exploitation of immigrants within the new Gulf Coast economy. Workers’ Center
members include African-American workers, including many hurricane survivors, as well as
immigrant workers. Workers’ Center members include those who have worked, currently work,
and who seek jobs in agriculture. The Workers’ Center is dedicated to organizing workers across
lines of race and industry to advance racial justice and build worker power and participation to
achieve a just reconstruction of New Orleans. This includes organizing and advocacy against
racial profiling and discrimination against communities of color.

Organization of Chinese Americans: The Organization of Chinese Americans (“OCA”) is a
national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of
Asian Pacific Americans. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., OCA represents members and
associates in over 80 chapters and affiliates across the country. OCA has worked in coalition
with other national groups to defend the rights of the Asian Pacific American and immigrant
communities and ensure that they are accorded the rights guaranteed to them under the
Constitution and federal, state, and local law. OCA supports this brief because HB 497 is
detrimental to the Asian Pacific American immigrant community because it sanctions
discrimination based on outward appearance.

-11-

Rights Working Group: Rights Working Group (“RWG”) is a national coalition of over 300
immigrant rights, civil rights, national security and human rights organizations formed in the
aftermath of September 11th to restore due process and human rights protections that have
eroded over the past ten years. RWG works to ensure that the rights of all people in the United
States are respected regardless of citizenship or immigration status, race, national origin, religion
or ethnicity. Currently, RWG leads the Face the Truth Campaign to end racial profiling and
advocates for the end of immigration enforcement by states and localities.

South Asian Americans Leading Together: South Asian Americans Leading Together
(“SAALT”) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to elevate the voices and
perspectives of South Asian individuals and organizations to build a more just and inclusive
society in the United States. As an organization that advocates on behalf of a community that
continues to be affected by racial profiling, SAALT joins this brief given the harsh impact that
HB 497 will have on immigrants in the state of Utah. In particular, SAALT is especially
concerned that this policy will result in community members becoming more hesitant to contact
police in times of need or emergencies out of fear that there may be negative immigration
consequences. SAALT joins this brief because we oppose policies that undermine trust between
police and immigrant communities and diminish law enforcement’s goal of keeping communities
safe.

-12-