NDLON

Ever since the Department of Homeland Security decided to conscript local police as “force multipliers” in harsh immigration enforcement efforts, cities and states have found themselves unwittingly or unwillingly part of the controversial federal deportation program misnamed Secure Communities. But a bold move last week by the D.C. Council [“In D.C., no warm welcome for immigration crackdown,” Metro, June 5] to protect residents from the effects of Secure Communities should serve as a model for the country. ice holdimmigrant detainer amendment actmendelsonop-edsarahi uribesecure communitieswashington postwashington, dc

When the Supreme Court hears the Department of Justice lawsuit challenging portions of Arizona's Senate Bill 1070 today, what will be debated has much higher stakes than the limited constitutional questions of federal and state powers that will be before the court. Perhaps those are the narrow arguments that will pass between lawyers, but SB 1070 isn't about a battle between federal and state power. It isn't even about immigration policy, nor is it about Arizona. SB 1070 is about all of us. How we respond to crisis, how we treat each other and whether we will let the bill's defenders stand in the doorway of history or whether we will refuse to have the hard-fought advances in our rights be turned back. arizona republiccarlos garciaop-edsb1070supreme court