The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today referred to the situation of thousands of Latino immigrants in the state of Arizona when he underscored "the concern of the OAS, its Secretary General, the countries of the hemisphere and the Latin American community with the passage of a law in a state of the United States that we consider to be discriminatory against immigrants, and in particular against a population of such origin that lives in this country."

Insulza, who traveled to El Salvador to participate in a meeting of the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, alerted on the risk that "this law would make immigration equivalent with crime and create foundations for racial discrimination which we consider unacceptable."

In this context, the OAS Secretary General commended "the quick response of the President of the United States, Barack Obama, who criticized this legislation, noting that all countries have the right to regulate immigration within their borders but not at the expense of human rights, the rights of people, or creating racial stereotypes that are out of touch with reality."

Furthermore, in addition to reiterating the significance of the response of the United States government, which quickly expressed concern with the possible effects of the law in question, Insulza said he hoped that this law would "never be applied against Latino residents and immigrants." Finally, referring to the contributions of the Latino community that works and lives in the United States, he asserted that "the great majority of them fulfill a social and economic function that benefits this country."

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-135/10