Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer on Aug. 27 called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to remove any mention of Arizona and its passage of SB 1070 from a human rights report issued by the State Department. The report, submitted to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as part of a universal review, discussed the passage and current injunction of portions of SB 1070 within a section entitled, "A commitment to values in engagements across our borders." Brewer's sternly-worded letter called inclusion of any mention of SB 1070 "offensive" in light of the membership of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), including Cuba and Libya.
Brewer continued:
The idea of our own American government submitting the duly enacted laws of a State of the United States to 'review' by the United Nations is internationalism run amok and unconstitutional. Human rights as guaranteed by the United States and Arizona Constitutions are expressly protected in S.B. 1070 and defended vigorously by my Administration.
Brewer has asked that the paragraph mentioning SB 1070 be stricken from the report and that in its place, the report include a comparison of US immigration laws to the laws of those members of the UNHRC that will review the report. There has not been an official response from Clinton or the State Department.
From Jurist [2], Aug. 30. Used with permission.
See our last posts on the politics of immigration [3] and the struggle in Arizona [4].
