Arizona Laws on Immigration

If the thought of an anti-immigrant, more radicalized GOP-controlled U.S. House wasn’t galling enough for immigration advocates, local immigrants’ rights groups are bracing for the equally grim prospect of a GOP controlled state government.

In Philly, others are also preparing for a looming fight. The city-based American Friends Service Committee is not only prepared for a more conservative Pennsylvania legislature, but state assemblies in 13 other states that flipped to GOP control.

DURHAM - Immigrants come to the U.S. to work, and current immigration policy is tearing families apart, speakers said at a forum Thursday night at First Presbyterian Church. "Immigrant Neighbors Behind Bars" was also sponsored by Iglesia Emanuel Presbyteriana and the American Friends Service Committee.

PROVIDENCE - Several community activist groups have denounced a scheduled State House rally Friday morning by The Minuteman Project and Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, saying it will stoke racism.

While the most controversial elements of Arizona's immigration law have been placed on hold, some illegal immigrants in the state are deciding it's time to leave. In nearby Colorado, the American Friends Service Committee says more than a dozen families have arrived in just the past few weeks.

More than 50 people from Denver and Aurora abstained from eating beginning July 25, for periods of time ranging from 24 hours to seven days, to protest inhumane immigration laws.

Immigration reform would be a welcome outcome of the debate over the Arizona law, said Martin Cuevas of Proyecto Campesino, an immigration-advocacy group that has worked in the area for more than 50 years.