Prayer Vigil Against Arizona Immigration Law
A gutted version of Arizona's immigration law goes into effect today and residents here are rallying against it.
There are prayer vigils being held across Washington State.
Jazmine Santacruz moved to the U.S. from Mexico when she was nine years old. And over the years she's seen people she loves affected by immigration issues.
Santacruz says, "I've had friends and things like that have been deported for small things.
She decided to take some action becoming a community leader for One America, a civil liberties group that's organizing tonight's prayer vigil. It's to show support for people in Arizona who may be effected by the new law.
Santacruz says she's afraid of a ripple affect and says, "It can happen to us, Washington could be one of those states where they are thinking oh well Arizona is doing this so why can't we."
Yesterday a federal judge temporarily blocked some of the more controversial parts of the law, including the requirement for police to check immigration status while enforcing other laws. But Santacruz believes it's is still a threat and wants the law completely struck down. One of her co-organizers, Rodolfo Cartagena believes it targets the hispanic community.
Cartagena says, "We need to go no to a specific race, not to a specific people. Again we the hispanic community we are not your enemy."
Both Santacruz and Cartagena believe in immigration reform to help people live in the country legally.
Local immigration lawyer Tom Roach tells us the current illegal population in the U.S. is 10.8 million down from 12.2. million in 2008.
He says the top two reasons are the economy and increased immigration enforcement.
Ultimately Santacruz is looking to the future for a solution.
Santacruz says, "We want the federal government to know that this has gone far enough. They need to step up and take the reigns in this and come together with the senate and come up with immigration reform for everybody."
The state of Arizona filed an appeal this morning. There will also be vigils in in Walla Walla at 7:00 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Yakima at 8:00 at La Casa Hogar and in Wenatchee at 7:00 at Cascade Unitarian Universalist Fellowship