Earlier today, Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed into law the tough immigration bill from Russell Pearce (link). Video of her signing and brief remarks are at peekURL.com/vm1nzd1 Someone tries to ask her a gotcha question about how to spot illegal aliens at peekURL.com/vmlxvwr ; she kind of flubs the answer and should have just responded with the fact that the Border Patrol and others involved in immigration enforcement have been quite adept at telling whether someone is here illegally or not. From the less important side of things, Ed Schultz wants amnesty combined with putting the U.S. military on the border here: peekURL.com/viyhm9w

In addition to Frank Sharry's America's Voice offering general opposition, MALDEF is vowing [1] to take the issue to court; recall they helped block Proposition 187:

“The extremely disappointing news that Governor Brewer caved to the radical fringe by signing SB 1070 launches Arizona into a spiral of pervasive fear, community distrust, increased crime and costly litigation, with nationwide repercussions. This cowardly gubernatorial act is the epitome of irresponsible leadership.

Nonetheless, the Arizona community is not alone. MALDEF and others will be pursuing all legal avenues to challenge this law. We have every expectation, based upon judicial precedent and unquestioned constitutional values, that SB 1070 will be enjoined before it can ever take effect.

One significant measure of SB 1070’s patent illegality is that it seeks to implement Arizona’s own scheme of immigration regulation – separate and in conflict with federal government policy – when our Constitution envisions a unified nation under one federal set of immigration regulations to be adopted by Congress and implemented by the President. By rejecting that constitutional plan, Arizona’s enactment of SB 1070 is tantamount to a declaration of secession.

Related:
* Annotated video of Obama's remarks about the Arizona bill

* Rick Sanchez lying about the Arizona immigration bill

* John McCain backed (but didn't endorse) Arizona's tough new immigration bill

UPDATE: From this:

(Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon) said he has requested the City Council on Tuesday to consider suing the state on grounds the new immigration law is "unconstitutional" and "unenforceable." ..."I've scheduled an item on the agenda for Tuesday to ask the council to direct the city attorney to draft, to prepare a lawsuit asking for an injunction on this law and challenging it on constitutional grounds."

UPDATE 1a: Video of Gordon spouting stock talking points: peekURL.com/vooqt5e

UPDATE 2: Nydia Velazquez, apparently speaking for the entire Congressional Hispanic Caucus, also weighs in (link).

UPDATE 3: The circus is coming to town (link):

U.S. Representative (Luis Gutierrez) (D-IL) announced that he would travel to Phoenix, Arizona to join immigrant and Latino leaders at a rally at the State Capitol on Sunday.

UPDATE 4: Nancy Pelosi weighs in (link):

"Our nation has been sustained and strengthened by immigrants from generation to generation and that is why today's action in Arizona is misguided and irresponsible. Families have come to the United States hoping for a better life and striving for a brighter future. We must do everything in our power to build on that tradition by passing comprehensive immigration reform and ensuring our nation's cherished civil rights."

1. We're talking about illegal immigration, and 2. See immigration tradition fallacy.

UPDATE 5: Jim Wallis of Sojourners melts down (sojo.net/index.cfm?action=media.display_article&
mode=P&NewsID=8526):

The law signed today by Arizona Gov. Brewer is a social and racial sin, and should be denounced as such by people of faith and conscience across the nation. It is not just about Arizona, but about all of us, and about what kind of country we want to be. It is not only mean-spirited - it will be ineffective and will only serve to further divide communities in Arizona, making everyone more fearful and less safe. This radical new measure, which crosses many moral and legal lines, is a clear demonstration of the fundamental mistake of separating enforcement from comprehensive immigration reform. Enforcement without reform of the system is merely cruel. Enforcement without compassion is immoral. Enforcement that breaks up families is unacceptable. This law will make it illegal to love your neighbor in Arizona, and will force us to disobey Jesus and his gospel. We will not comply.

UPDATE 6: The "Arizona Hispanic Republicans" weigh in (link). For Republicans they certainly sound to have internalized far-left concepts:

Jan Brewer’s decision will mark today as the day in which Hispanic Americans will follow the footsteps of the Great Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Pearce and Brewer do not see the unintended consequences of their actions, and it appears that they were willing to make decisions that affect us at the cost of trampling on our Constitutional Rights... We believe this party was founded by Abraham Lincoln, a man who was instrumental in doing away with evils towards people of color... We believe United States Hispanic citizens have a right to be safe in their person from illegal searches and seizures, and we believe Pearce’s efforts are violating that. SB 1070 is a direct slap in the face to Hispanic Americans who have fought and died for several American wars because this new law can be abused by authorities to pull us over with mere "reasonable suspicion"...

That is not factually correct: the "reasonable suspicion" only applies after a policeman has detained someone for some other reason; see the two following links. And, well-funded far-left groups will make sure that any "illegal searches and seizures" are taken to court. See the comments here and here. Perhaps the Arizona Hispanic Republicans should do a review of what they actually believe and their priorities.

UPDATE 7: From this:

"Right after the bill was signed, (the American Immigration Lawyers Association) board of governors had an emergency meeting and voted on whether or not we would keep the conference in Scottsdale," said former AILA chair Mo Goldman, a Tucson attorney... The vote to cancel and relocate the convention was nearly unanimous, Goldman said.

UPDATE 8: Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security has also come out against the law (link). All of this is stock boilerplate:

"The Arizona immigration law will likely hinder federal law enforcement from carrying out its priorities of detaining and removing dangerous criminal aliens. With the strong support of state and local law enforcement, I vetoed several similar pieces of legislation as Governor of Arizona because they would have diverted critical law enforcement resources from the most serious threats to public safety and undermined the vital trust between local jurisdictions and the communities they serve. I support and am actively working with bipartisan members of Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level because this issue cannot be solved by a patchwork of inconsistent state laws."

UPDATE 9: From this:

Richard Elías, chairman of the (Pima County) Board of Supervisors, echoed statements by a litany of speakers that the law will infringe on civil rights. "Yesterday, people of color lost their right to due process here in Arizona," he said, while City Council member Regina Romero called Friday "one of the darkest days in Arizona."

...(Raul Grijalva), a Democrat, said the economic boycott will be trivial compared with the money Arizona will lose in tourism and retail sales. And he called on Congress to "show the spine and the humanity to reform immigration laws," warning that otherwise, the new law will be a harbinger of things to come in other states.

He also continued his call for the U.S. government to refuse to cooperate. Since federal law has supremacy, he said, if the federal government refuses to detain or process the cases, then the new law is moot. He called for a "cleansing" at the state Legislature, which he said for too long has been tolerated as "silly extremists."

"Well, they're silly, but they're dangerous," he said, urging the crowd to continue nonviolent opposition.

The last link also describes a John McCain meeting, including:

Pressed by one woman to call Grijalva's boycott irresponsible, McCain said he strongly disagrees with it, especially since the economy is hurting.

UPDATE 10: From this:

The Rev. Al Sharpton says he will challenge Arizona’s new immigration bill in court and on the streets.

Sharpton is joining Lillian Rodriguez Lopez from the Hispanic Federation to announce a legal challenge to the bill. They say activists are also prepared to commit civil disobedience to fight the Arizona immigration bill.

UPDATE 11: From this:

William Sanchez, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders Legal Defense Fund (NCLCCL) stated that they were preparing a lawsuit against the state to stop the law... "Millions of Latinos around the country are shocked," Sanchez said.

UPDATE 12: From this:

"As Americans, we must stand up against this law," Maria Elena Letona, associate director of the (Massachusetts) chapter of the National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities (NALACC), told a midday gathering on the Boston Common. "It's a travesty, and it's a moral outrage."

[1] maldef.org/news/releases/maldef_condemns_az_governor_042310/