Arizona school district becomes first to join litigation opposing SB1070

At its June 8 meeting, the Governing Board of the Sunnyside Unified School District (SUSD) voted to join civil litigation opposing SB1070, thereby becoming the first school district in Arizona to enter into litigation opposing the immigration law. The controversial law is slated to go into effect on July 29, 2010.

At a special meeting May 25, the SUSD Governing Board adopted a resolution opposing SB1070 as a law which "has a significantly negative impact on all students, teachers and community" and "seriously jeopardizes public safety and education and drives a wedge between law enforcement, educational institutions and ethnic communities."

The school district joins the suit a Tucson police officer filed to block the law which has sparked national debate and a multitude of lawsuits. The City of Tucson voted to join the lawsuit last week.

The resolution the board approved calls for finding pro bono legal representation.

It states that the Sunnyside District views the enforcement of the law as unconstitutional, calls for federal comprehensive immigration reform, and urges other school districts to oppose SB1070 and support efforts to develop reasonable alternatives to the law that "recognize the need for federal-level reform that assists struggling border

communities while respecting the humanity of all the people living and working in these communities."

Sunnyside School Board president Louie Gonzales reviewed some of the boards concerns to a local news channel:

"We do have officers on the campuses. We have officers at our functions, football games. Well, how is that going to correlate with what we are doing. Are these children going to have to carry their documents. Are they going to be affected? Are they going to be detained until documents can be provided?"

Gonzales also mentioned the concern that officers who work with students on campuses may lost students' trust, making the schools less safe.

The school district encompasses the southern part of the City of Tucson and areas adjacent in Pima County, including the northern two miles of the Tohono O'Odham Nation.