Republican legislative leaders are moving to use taxpayer money to keep the email of current and former lawmakers out of the hands of immigration activists.
The fight involves Arizona’s immigration law SB 1070. While some provisions of the law have been ruled unconstitutional, a provision requiring police to question the immigration status of those they stop and suspect are in the country illegally has so far held up.
That’s why activists have subpoenaed the email of people like former state Sen. Russell Pearce. Victor Viramontes of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education fund believes that correspondence will help prove the contention that the law was racially motivated.
“What we saw with Legislator Pearce, for example, is that he was using his personal emails to make comments about Latinos in reference to SB 1070, and in reference to Latinos generally,” Viramontes said.
Senate Majority Whip Adam Driggs says the activists are on a fishing expedition and lawmakers should not roll over and play dead. They plan to set aside $100,000 to fight the subpoenas.