City Councilman John Autry told a gathering of about 50 people at a vigil in the front lawn of the Latin American Coalition Wednesday that anti-immigration laws such as Arizona's embattled SB 1070 are "cynical."
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday for and against the Arizona law. Later in the day justices suggested they likely would uphold the state's policies instructing police to check people's immigration status.
The group had gathered at 7:30 p.m. to show its solidarity with immigrants in other parts of the country - particularly those in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, where draconian laws regarding undocumented residents have either been passed or are under consideration.
The last to speak was a teenage boy, whose words rang similar to those of teenagers during another civil rights movement some 50 years ago. The boy attended Wednesday's vigil, he said, because he fears living in an area where, whether or not he is documented, he will be judged for the "color of my skin, for my ethnicity."