WASHINGTON, DC - The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Justice’s actions on Arizona’s SB 1070:

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund is pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice has heard the outcries of the community under attack by forces that attempt to divide this great nation.

“The Department of Justice has reaffirmed today that the issue of immigration is a federal obligation, and not one that can be left up to the states to try to resolve with repressive measures that do nothing but harm,” said Florida State Representative Juan Zapata, chair of the NALEO Educational Fund Board.

“The federal government is telling us today that it knows without a shadow of a doubt that SB 1070 is an affront to our civil rights. It is politically motivated and racially biased, and must be struck down before it sees the light of day,” said Harris County (Texas) Commissioner Sylvia R. García, president of the NALEO Board, which serves as an advisor to the NALEO Educational
Fund.

The NALEO Educational Fund stands indivisible with the president and his administration and with all others who seek to defeat Arizona’s SB 1070. We just celebrated the 4th of July holiday and are reminded of what our Founding Fathers envisioned 234 years ago: that we must resist repression and preserve liberty. It was Thomas Jefferson who said, "Political interest [can] never be separated in the long run from moral right.” Those words ring true today like never before.