Martin Quezada has been a Democratic member of the Arizona Senate since 2015, representing a district that covers part of the western Phoenix metro area. He is also a member of the Pendergast Elementary School District Governing Board, serving since 2011. He was previously a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015. Quezada is also an attorney, and he previously served as a research analyst and policy adviser to the Arizona State House Democratic Caucus. 

What do you remember about the year 2010, with regard to SB 1070?

I remember that the anti-immigrant movement was peaking in Arizona around that time. There had been lots of efforts to build up to something like SB 1070. But SB 1070, the bill, became recognized as the pinnacle of the anti-immigrant movement. I think that 1070 really divided everybody very clearly, both politically and in society in general. And it galvanized the movement against it, as it spurred a lot of organizing in the Latino community. Ultimately, SB 1070 was the one symbol of what Arizona had turned into. It was really a very ugly time in our history. 

Do you feel that anything has changed in Arizona between then and now?

Yes and no. In some ways it has changed. For example, after the recall of [Arizona state lawmaker] Russell Pearce, the anti-immigrant rhetoric and vitriol really took a sharp decrease, for a couple of years. But then it started to come right back again, especially after Donald Trump was elected. That empowered them to once again be very vocal and very proud about being anti-immigrant. In many ways, we're right back where we started. The difference now is that our community is much more aware of what is going on, and we’re more organized than before. We’re able to fight in a much more complex way, such as in the courts, politically and in society, through our messaging. I think that the fight is still the same, but the manner in which we’re engaging in has become much more complex. 

Does SB 1070 have an effect on Arizona’s business and/or economy?

Yes, definitely. Right away, after the bill passed, it had a very obvious effect on our economy. The international boycott of Arizona started, and the business community became vocal in its opposition to this type of legislation, because they felt the hit on their bottom line. Another thing I remember is that I took a few trips overseas during that time. And when I would meet people and tell them I'm from Arizona, they would say, “Oh, that's the place where SB 1070 happened.” 

We became known, both nationally and internationally, as a state of hatred toward immigrants. It hurts our economy when people start to ask themselves if Arizona is a place where they want to go, as a tourist, and to spend money. That definitely hurt us. If our state is perceived as being intolerant, then it really hurts our business interests. Whether it's anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ or anti-Black, it can really hurt business and the economy. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement is surging right now, and any state that is seen as anti-Black will suffer economically. Even though SB1070 passed 10 years ago, I think we're still recovering from it in a lot of ways. The impact is still being felt today. 

Many of the protagonists involved in SB 1070 have either been voted out of office or politically disgraced in some way (Russell Pearce, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne). Does this affect SB 1070’s legitimacy in any way? 

To me it does. The ouster of Tom Horne, Arpaio, Russell Pearce, [County Attorney] Andrew Thomas and others really sent a strong message that the general public doesn't support that type of politics. But what I've also noticed, having been in politics for so long now, is that sometimes when you chop off the head of a snake, two more grow back. It’s kind of like Hydra in the Marvel movies! We got rid of Pearce and Arpaio, but successors have come up and replaced them. And they’re now carrying that movement. President Trump is a prime example of that, in that he's now the leader of that movement. I think there's a good chance that we’ll get rid of him this November, but I'm sure there will be others ready to replace him as well. 

I think that the ouster of those people shows that we do have power. It's a reminder to us of our power, and also that we have to exercise that power. We have to organize and flex that muscle, but it's a never-ending battle. We can never rest in the fight against racism or against anti-immigrant oppression. It’s a battle that we may have to keep on fighting for the rest of our lives. 

With regard to the Arizona State Capitol, why are you leading the effort to repeal SB 1070? 

One reason is because the passage of SB 1070 is what motivated me to run for office in the first place. I ran for office that same year, in 2010, but I didn't make it. I came back the next cycle, and I was elected. The beginning of my political career started with SB 1070, because it’s what motivated me to not be afraid, and to jump in and try to make change. That’s a personal reason. 

But the more important reason is that SB 1070 is a black eye on Arizona's history, and it’s something that really makes us look bad, worldwide. I think that we have a responsibility to fix that image of Arizona, and to change that image. The only way that you do that is by taking strong steps to correct the mistakes that we made in the past. I think that everyone recognizes that SB 1070 was a mistake, but only a handful of us are willing to go back and correct it. I think that's the difficult part. The hard part is going back and fixing it. Very few people want to do that, but I think that it's the work that needs to get done in order for us to put that history behind us. If not, we're still living in an era of SB 1070. I'm ready to move beyond it, so that's why I've sponsored the bill to repeal SB 1070 every year I’ve been in office. And I'm going to keep doing that until it’s finally repealed, or until I'm done. 

What is the lasting impact of SB 1070, and how do you see the political future of Arizona going forward? 

I think that the impact is like two sides of a coin. On one side, it’s a reflection of how ugly our politics can be. And it shows just how much hatred and racism there is in our government, our elected leaders, our community leaders and our business leaders. As much as some people want to deny it, racism is still very much a part of our nation and our state. 

On the other side, it represents our ability as a community to organize, and to come together to fight back and be successful. A perfect example of what we’re capable of is when we recalled Russell Pearce. We made national history when he was the first sitting Senate president to ever be recalled in the U.S. That's a major accomplishment, and it happened right here in Arizona. And it happened with a lot of people that I know, people who I have coffee with, who I go to the movies with and hang out with. Those are the people who made that happen. 

A few years before 2010, we weren’t aware that we were capable of doing that. Knowing that we have that power is exactly why they’re so afraid of us. It’s why they want to enact more voter suppression measures and prevent police accountability and reform. Basically, they want to prevent us from flexing our muscle and asserting the power that we have. As much as SB 1070 is a black mark on our history, I also think that it's a light that guides us to where we could be, and what we can become. That's how I try to focus on it, and I think that it speaks to what we’re capable of in Arizona. 

Is there anything else that you’d like to add? 

I just want to add that the numbers reflect what I've said about 2010 being the turning point for our state. If you look at the number of Latinos who’ve been elected to public office since then, including the State Legislature, school boards, city councils, county supervisors, etc., we really turned a corner after 2010. As a result of SB 1070, we’ve elected a lot of Latinos and Latinas to office who’ve been doing some great things! 

We're not there yet, where Latinos make up the majority, but we've come a long way. Just looking at the numbers of voters and Latino voter turnout, we've outperformed other communities ever since 2010. This will ultimately lead to us doing great things for our communities. The proof is right there in the numbers: We’re one or two cycles away from fully realizing everything that this work has led to.