1. DEMOCRACIA
MARCH 2011
S.B. 1070 COPYCAT LAWS IN
COLORADO AND PENNSYLVANIA
The spread of S.B. 1070 copycat legislation continues to threaten the IN THIS ISSUE:
possibility for real solutions to our nation’s immigration problems and
Colorado and
more recently, Colorado and Pennsylvania introduced their own ver‐ Pennsylvania-fighting
sions of the anti‐immigrant bill. As you know, last month Democracia the spread of copycat
and its Colorado partners Campaign for a Strong Colorado, and CIRC , laws
launched a joint effort to defeat the bill and inform Coloradans about
the real economic impact of passing the misguided legislation. [Watch The Constitution
the video here.] Several years ago, the town of Hazelton, Pennsylvania Center– 14th
spent over $2.8 million in legal costs related to a similar measure that Amendment panel
discussion gets heated
was eventually tossed out by the courts; in Arizona, the cost of S.B.
1070 is estimated to reach into the tens of millions.
Las Vegas-the mayor’s
race heats up and
Thanks to your support, your phone calls, and your e‐mails, H.B. 1107 Latinos may be the
was withdrawn before a vote could be taken on the measure. Rep. tipping point
Baumgardner, the bill’s sponsor told the Associated Press, “We're
probably going to offer for it to go away today. For the same reason Petition drive in
Pennsylvania aims to
that I've told everybody else — the undue cost to the taxpayers, the
defeat anti-immigrant bill
litigation that could possibly be brought forward,” he said.

2. BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, THE 14TH AMENDMENT AND
ANTI‐IMMIGRANT LAWS:
Constitution Center panel brings the issues front and center
Pictured above: Democracia President, Jorge Mursuli and
Cecilia Wang, Managing Attorney for the California office of
On Saturday, March 5th, the Constitution Center was host to an event sponsored by the Peter
Jennings Project for Journalism and Constitution which focused on the issue of birthright citizenship
and the spread of anti‐immigrant legislation like Arizona’s S.B. 1070. Panelists included
Democracia’s own President Jorge Mursuli, Cecilia Wang of the ACLU, Representative Daryl
Metcalfe (R‐PA) sponsor of Pennsylvania's version of S.B. 1070, Jeff Greenfield of CBS news, Dr. John
Eastman, the Donald P. Kennedy Chair in Law at Chapman University School of Law, and Judge
Marjorie O. Rendell, former First Lady of Pennsylvania, and currently a judge on the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Third Circuit.
The interactive discussion posed possible scenarios to the panelists regarding proposed measures
including tasking local law enforcement to inquire about immigration status during routine stops.
The discussion often turn heated, in particular, exchanges between Democracia’s Mursuli and Rep‐
resentative Metcalfe who often uses the catch phrase “illegal alien invasion” to describe immigrant
communities.
“We are no longer having real conversations ….This is way beyond fixing what is a real problem. All
it is doing is fueling the fire for political agendas, people’s careers, where the solution is really at the
federal level to clean up the mess,” said Mursuli during the panel discussion. To watch the entire
program, follow this link to the Constitution Center.

3. LAS VEGAS
MAYORAL RACE
HEATS UP AS
LATINOS STAND
TO MAKE MAJOR
IMPACT
The heat of summer is coming early to Las Vegas, Nevada. The mayoral race will soon switch
into high gear as the April 7th primaries approach. And with much at stake for the Hispanic com‐
munity, this election will surely draw a lot of attention from a voting bloc that is increasing be‐
coming a prominent force in Nevada’s political landscape; cue the 2010 elections.
Lead by our Nevada State Director, Alicia Estrada, Democracia is poised to launch, yet again, an
extensive volunteer based Get‐Out‐The‐Vote (GOTV) effort in the coming weeks that will
undoubtedly result in the Hispanic community being fully represented at the polls.
Democracia understands that its not enough that Latinos comprise nearly a quarter of Las Vegas’
population, the issues that matter most to our community won’t be addressed or made a prior‐
ity unless the community achieves sustained civic engagement. With this in mind, we hope to
build on the moment of 2010 and turn‐out thousands of Latino voters for both the primaries
and the general elections on June 7.
Our volunteer based program can’t work without your support, however. Please contact us to
find out how you can get involved. Juntos, hacemos la diferencia!
Phone Banking Event:
GOTV calls for Mayoral Race
Start date: March 18th ‐ 2 hour shifts – 5‐7pm
Monday‐ Friday
Location: Please Call 702 ‐ 383 ‐ 6937

4. We are writing to urge you to oppose the National Security Begins at Home illegal immigration reform package
for the 2011‐12 legislative session, introduced by Representative David Metcalfe (R) on March 1, 2011.
The bill is the latest misguided and prejudicial effort to address illegal immigration issues in the State of Penn‐
sylvania.
Unfortunately, like similar legislation introduced in Arizona and other states, the bill does not offer a solution
to the issue, rather, it proposes additional enforcement measures that infringe upon the Constitutional rights
of a significant portion of the State’s population, place undue burden on local law enforcement, and present a
direct challenge to the Federal government’s constitutionally mandated powers.
As our nation and our state traverse through challenging economic times, it is imperative that we realize the
financial cost of continuing to entertain legislation that we clearly know from the outset, will not pass the legal
litmus test.
The Latino community is certainly disproportionately affected by unemployment and foreclosures, not just in
our State but across the country. This is why we believe the effort to cloak this bill as a solution to the State’s
economic ills, is incredibly deceptive and counterproductive to making progress on these tracks. We need only
look at other examples to see that the legal challenges involved following the passage of these types of propos‐
als, pose a very real drain on State and Federal time and resources. Several years ago, the town of Hazelton,
Pennsylvania spent over $2.4 million in legal wrangling before a similar anti‐immigrant measure was tossed out
of the court system and in Arizona the cost surrounding legal challenges on S.B. 1070 is expected to reach the
tens of millions.
We want to urge you to actively oppose what is a plainly politically‐motivated bill and work with our commu‐
nity and others to come up with viable solutions that balance enforcement with the respect for civil rights and
the economic realities of our times. Legislation such as the one introduced by Representative Metcalfe are
clearly in line with what is worst in politics when what our nation and our State needs today, is to bring out
what is best so that we can meet the challenges we face and forge ahead as a community united.
Signed By: Date:
Please mail signed petitions to: Democracia 2915 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, Florida 33137 (305) 573‐7329
www.mydemocracia.org