The National Coalition for Immigrant Women’s Rights has issued the following opinion on the recent ruling on “Show Me Your Papers” provision of Arizona’s SB1070 immigration law.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton issued an opinion that upheld the controversial “papers, please” provision of the harsh Arizona immigration law SB 1070, threatening the civil rights of women immigrants across the country.

“Civil rights and immigration experts have clearly stated that the ‘papers, please’ provision of SB 1070 encourages racial profiling and promotes stigma and bias against immigrants, and yet today a U.S. district judge chose to ignore those warnings,” said Jessica González-Rojas, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), one of the two organizations that lead the National Coalition for Immigrant Women’s Rights (NCIWR). “

“Today’s decision shows an immediate need for comprehensive immigration reform that protects women immigrants and their families,” said Miriam Yeung, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).

This decision reinforces how Arizona continues to lead the nation in troubling immigration policy. Last week, Governor Jan Brewer issued an executive order outlining the state’s refusal to comply with the federal immigration policy that gives young immigrants without documents the opportunity to work legally in the United States for the first time. Instead, Brewer has ordered state workers not to issue driver’s licenses or other public benefits to undocumented immigrants, further limiting the options of these young people.