AAN Association of Alternative Newsmedia

Arkansas Times Organizes Coaltion to Fight Immigration Measures

By AAN Staff

october 31, 2007 08:28 am

Representatives from Alltel, Tyson Foods, and Stephens Inc. have joined the American Civil Liberties Union, activists, and the Times (which also publishes El Latino, a Spanish-language weekly) in a coalition aimed at stopping any state or local legislation targeting illegal immigration, Forbes reports. The members of the Arkansas Friendship Coalition were inspired to act by a few developments: a handful of local police agencies partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce federal immigration law; a failed effort in the state legislature that would have criminalized harboring or transportating illegal immigrants; and Gov. Mike Beebe's request that Arkansas State Police pursue an agreement with the federal government that would allow troopers to enforce immigration law. Times publisher Alan Leveritt helped lay the groundwork for the group's formation with an August cover story on Little Rock's immigrant community.

View full article at Forbes