 About 30 members from different pro-immigrant groups held a news conference Monday morning in Los Angeles to protest Arizona's law SB 1070, while an appeals court in San Francisco heard arguments in favor and against a decision by a lower court to block some of the most controversial aspects of the law. (ALEX GARCIA / SFVS)
Students and pro-immigrant groups held marches and protests in Los Angeles earlier this week, as a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard an appeal of SB 1070. "We're sending the message that we're watching very closely what is happening in San Francisco," said Paulina Gonzalez of the group Todos Somos Arizona during a news conference Monday morning in front of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles. "And we want to make clear that we will continue to mobilize and protest against this unjust law because SB 1070 is very much alive in Arizona," she added, flanked by some 30 members of different pro-immigrant groups. "We don't want a partial repeal of this measure. We want a complete overturning of this law," she concluded. Later that day, high school and college students also repudiated the controversial measure during a march from Boyle Heights to the Downtown Federal Building. "We intend to make California the Anti-Arizona. We're marching to call on the Federal Court in San Francisco to throw out Arizona's anti-immigrant law, SB 1070," said Maricruz Lopez, organizer for BAMN (By Any Means Necessary). The students also called on both the federal and state legislature to approve the Dream Act. The federal measure would allow undocumented students to regulate their status if they have lived in the United States for five years. The state law would allow them to access financial aid. "Overturning SB 1070 and winning both the California and Federal Dream Acts are necessary first steps in the direction of making real progress in America," said Adam Lerman, another BAMN organizer. It was the same appeal made by Maria Aide Hernandez, a car wash worker who said laws such as SB 1070 allow the exploitation of undocumented workers to continue. She also said approval of such a measure would bring fear to the immigrant community. "Our community is going to fear to report crime or cooperate with investigations and speak out in emergencies," Hernandez said. "Police should concentrate on protecting our community, not creating a climate of fear and intimidation," added Hernandez.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Write a letter to the editor. Send your thoughts to the San Fernando Valley Sun: 601 S. Brand Blvd. #202, San Fernando, CA 91340; email: editor@sanfernandosun.com. | 
