Washington, D.C. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today called on Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to veto the unconstitutional anti-immigrant bill recently passed by the state legislature, emphasizing that failure to do so will result in severe economic penalties for the state.

The bill, SB 1070, forces police to stop and question anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant, including a demand for papers verifying U.S. citizenship. The language contradicts the long-held legal principle that only the federal government establishes immigration policy. Authored by state Sen. Russell Pearce, the bill has been denounced by religious, civil rights, immigrant and Hispanic organizations around the country before even coming to the governor’s desk.

“This bill will be rejected by the courts, and in the meantime, Arizonans will be subjected to unnecessary indignity at the hands of a racist law,” Grijalva said. “I cannot stress enough the scale of the damage Arizona’s prestige and credibility will suffer if this bill is finalized.”

Grijalva called on national organizations of all kinds to reject Arizona as a convention destination unless the bill is vetoed. A Super Bowl ban by the National Football League Players Association after the state refused to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. day was effective in changing the policy in 1993.

“If the state follows through with this, the cost will be high,” Grijalva said. “This bill is not a serious approach to the immigration issue. This is grandstanding at taxpayer expense. Turning every police officer in the state into a roving immigration official, armed with a racial profiling mandate, is un-American on its face and cannot withstand even casual legal scrutiny.”