April 30, 2012
NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY 3
NLC Files Amicus Brief in Arizona Immigration Law Supreme
Court Case, Stresses Immigration as a Federal Responsibility
by Gregory Minchak
Immigration policy is a federal respon-
sibility and should remain so. That’s the
message NLC and dozens of cities sent
to the Supreme Court last week as it
heard oral arguments in State of Arizona
v. United States, which challenges the
authority of the state of Arizona to enact
its own immigration law, SB1070.
NLC, in an amicus brief joined by the
U.S. Conference of Mayors and more
than 40 municipalities from across the
country, including Phoenix, Flagstaff,
Tucson and San Luis, Ariz., argues that
allowing states to create their own immi-
gration enforcement policies will detract
from local public safety priorities and
stretch already limited resources. SB1070
effectively requires local law enforcement
to spend considerable time and money
detaining individuals who may eventually
not even be charged with a crime, while
researching their immigration status.
The law also creates an unreasonable
burden on law enforcement to enforce
an unworkable law. If a city chooses, for
whatever reason, not to enforce the law to
its fullest extent, then it may be sued by
any resident of the state. Localities also risk
depleting resources defending themselves
from a surge of lawsuits contending that
arrestees were stopped using constitutional-
ly questionable tactics, like racial profiling.
More troubling than the financial
implications, SB1070 makes many
members of immigrant communities —
including those who are lawfully present
in the United States — justifiably afraid
of interacting with local officials. When
fear makes residents reluctant to seek law
enforcement assistance, crimes go unre-
ported, witnesses fear coming forward,
victims lack protection, and communi-
ties become less safe for all members —
non-citizens and citizens alike.
Details: A copy of the amicus brief is
at http://bit.ly/NLCImmigrationAmicus
Brief2012.
A copy of NLC’s Comprehensive
Immigration Reform Policy is at http://
www.nlc.org/influence-federal-policy/
advocacy/legislative-advocacy/fix-the-
nations-broken-immigration-system.
For more information on NLC’s
Municipal Action for Immigration
Integration project, visit http://www.nlc.
org/find-city-solutions/research-innova
tion/immigrant-integration.
Michigan Cities Resilient During State’s Transformation
by James Brooks
Several states and thousands of cit-
ies face the multiple and overlapping
challenges of economic transformation,
population out-migration, housing price
devaluation, mortgage foreclosures and
tax base erosion. Michigan is among
those states hit hardest by all of these
forces. Nonetheless, local government
leaders are demonstrating resilience and
working to shape the emerging transfor-
mations that will put their cities on the
path to long-term sustainable growth
and prosperity.
CENTER
FOR RESEARCH
& INNOVATION
Resilient Cities in a
tRansfoRming state
a snapshot of local action in michigan
organizational routines, collaborating
across sectors and levels, identifying and
redirecting resources and leveraging new
resources from public and private sourc-
es. Insights into city leaders’ actions were
gathered during a Leadership Forum on
Neighborhoods and Local Economies,
which brought together federal, state
and local decision makers in Lansing,
Mich., to define place-making and cre-
ate a framework to support economic
growth and prosperity statewide.
Details: The report can be accessed
by visiting the Housing & Community
Development page of the NLC website.
To learn more about NLC’s Center
for Research and Innovation’s work
on housing and neighborhoods, e-mail
brooks@nlc.org.
DOE to Host Better Buildings Summit for State and Local Communities
by Carolyn Berndt
With the building sector accounting
for 39 percent of the nation’s energy use,
72 percent of its electricity use and one
third of all global greenhouse gas emis-
sions, making buildings more energy
efficient can have multiple benefits for
communities, including creating jobs
and economic growth, reducing energy
costs and lowering carbon emissions.
Managing Data for Results; and
Leveraging Partnerships and Stakeholder
Relationships;
• Implementing a program to success-
fully achieve the goal.
Details: To register for the summit,
please visit http://sentech.srahosting.
com/doebbsummit2012/ index.html or
e-mail jessica.balsam@ee.doe.gov.
To learn more about the Better
Buildings Challenge, visit http://www4.
eere.energy.gov/challenge.
