WHEREAS, Mayor of Phoenix, AZ, Phil Gordon, has requested an investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office by US Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation for potential civil rights violations of community members due to racial profiling stops by the Sheriff’s “Crime Suppression Operations” in the city of Phoenix; and

WHEREAS, the Anti-Defamation League has called on the U.S. Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Justice to investigate mounting allegations of racial profiling of Hispanic citizens that surfaced recently from leaders of the Latino community, numbers of detainees, but not all of them have been found to be undocumented, during Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office “Crime Suppression Sweep.” This raises serious questions about the process and its effects on the community; and

WHEREAS, it is well known that LULAC is the nation’s oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States, advocating for the rights of Hispanics and other racial and ethnic minorities; and

WHEREAS, our civil liberties and constitutional rights of community members should never be compromised due to racial profiling and unequal treatment because of our race, color or national origin; and

LET IT BE RESOLVED, therefore, by the present resolution we ask LULAC to recognize the racial profiling and publicly condemn such vile and dehumanizing practices perpetrated by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department against Hispanic citizens and humanity; and

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that LULAC involve the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Civil Rights, and all other appropriate civil rights agencies to investigate the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to cease and desist the racial profiling and discriminatory treatment of community members in Maricopa County, and the State of Arizona.

Approved this 11th day of July 2008.
Rosa Rosales
LULAC National President