Phoenix, AZ – At a news conference today, National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Executive Director and COO Janet Murguia joined leaders from Hispanic and farmworker organizations in declaring that Proposition 200, the anti-immigrant initiative that was approved by voters on Tuesday, is a false “solution” that will not fix an immigration system badly in need of reform.

“Proposition 200 is a referendum on the problem, not the solution,” said Murguia. “Our immigration system is broken and we share Arizona’s frustration. But even if this poorly-drafted initiative survives the legal challenges to come, it will do nothing to solve the problem of illegal immigration.”

The projected costs to the state for implementing Proposition 200 are estimated at more than $50 million. The initiative would force local government workers such as librarians, bus drivers, and teachers to act as immigration agents, disrupting their daily work and burdening them with responsibilities that should fall under the federal government’s domain.

“While we are disappointed that Proposition 200 passed, we are encouraged that the initiative steadily and dramatically lost support in the final weeks of the campaign. This significant loss of support – from 79% to 56% in just six weeks – demonstrates that the more voters learned about the initiative, the less they liked it,” continued Murguia.

“While legal challenges are ongoing, NCLR will serve as a resource to those who face the task of preparing the Latino community in Arizona for the possible implementation of this misguided legislation,” said Murguia. “We expect that many people will turn to our community-based organizations with their questions and concerns about Proposition 200.”

Murguia expressed deep appreciation for the many organizations, elected officials, and community leaders who joined together in opposition to the initiative. “The ‘No on 200’ campaign had tremendous bipartisan support from many of Arizona’s top officials including Senator John McCain and Governor Janet Napolitano, and extensive participation from the business, civic, religious, and labor communities as well as strong support from Arizona’s Hispanics, a majority of whom voted against the initiative.”

“The real work at hand is to accomplish an immigration reform that makes difficult debates like this one unnecessary. At the National Council of La Raza, we take this responsibility very seriously; we will work diligently with these communities and these individuals to engage in a bipartisan effort and craft an effective, comprehensive immigration policy that respects the role that all of us – including immigrants – play in building this great nation,” concluded Murguia.

NCLR is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. The other individuals and organizations participating in the news briefing included: Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox; the Statue of Liberty Coalition; Valle del Sol, Inc.; Friendly House, Inc.; Danny Ortega, Attorney at Law; La Campesina Radio Network; United Farm Workers; and Chicanos Por La Causa.

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