ACLU of Minnesota issues travel alert for Arizona

Official flag of Arizona

The ACLU of Minnesota issued a travel alert Wednesday for Minnesotans planning to travel to Arizona over the July 4 weekend. It issued the advisory in response to Arizona’s new immigration law, SB 1070, which directs police to check citizenship papers of individuals suspected of being in the country illegally. The ACLU has drafted “know you rights” materials in English and Spanish, which it is making available free to state residents.

“If Minnesotans are planning to travel to Arizona for the holiday weekend, they need to know their rights,” Charles Samuelson, executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota said in a statement. “In Arizona, officials are not waiting for the new law to take effect to start questioning people about their immigration status. People who look or sound ‘foreign’ are more likely to be stopped for minor infractions like having a broken taillight or jaywalking and then asked for their ‘papers’ if police think that they could be in the country unlawfully.”

The new law, which takes effect July 29, prompted a similar alert on the other side of the border. In late April, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhan, issued an advisory warning its citizens against travel to Arizona.