On the same day Arizona’s controversial illegal-immigration law took effect, members of a Santa Clarita church held signs criticizing the controversial legislation at Valencia Boulevard and McBean Parkway on Thursday night.

Some drivers honked and waved as they passed the 11 members of Unitarian Universalist Church of Santa Clarita Valley, who all wore yellow shirts and held picket signs. Other motorists ignored the protest.

A smaller group of people who supported the law later gathered on the opposite street corner, leading to civil debate.

The law in question, SB 1070, would give Arizona authorities the power to detain people they suspect are in the country illegally. While a federal judge halted some parts of the law from taking effect, the debate about its merits and flaws rages on across the country.

|On the Valencia street corner, Barbara Cogswell, 77, of Canyon Country, said she was concerned SB 1070 would create a culture where law enforcement question a person’s legal status because of their skin color. She said racial profiling is a problem minorities in the United States have dealt with for years.

“This is not a place where we have to show our papers to show we belong here,” Cogswell said. “If you ask any person of color, they’ll tell you they’ve gotten tickets for driving while black, for driving while brown.”

Earlier this week, Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, praised the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton to block parts of S.B. 1070 from taking affect.  

“The entire Arizona attempt to deal with various immigration issues outside federal law reveals once again the level of frustration across the country that the U.S. Congress will not deal with the pressing issue of needed immigration reform,” Mahony said in a news release.

On May 28, Santa Clarita City Councilman Bob Kellar sent a letter of support to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer for signing SB 1070 into law. Kellar said Thursday he was disappointed when Judge Bolton blocked parts of the law. 

“I find it absolutely appalling that we would do anything to interfere with Arizona’s right or protect its state and the rights of the people of Arizona,” Kellar said Thursday.

On Thursday night, church member Rick Lott, 58, of Canyon Country, was holding a sign that read: “Bob Keller (sic) looks illegal.”

“I love irony,” Lott said, laughing. “If you judge a person’s legal status by how they look, I say Kellar looks Canadian.”

In June, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to boycott Arizona until SB 1070 was either suspended or repealed. Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, opposed the boycott.

Santa Clarita Valley Independent Minutemen leader Roger Gitlin said Thursday he wasn’t surprised parts of SB 1070 had been blocked in court, and said he expects the immigration law to eventually be debated by the U.S. Supreme Court.  

“Right now, we have millions of people who are using billions of dollars of public service,” Gitlin said. “Every state is a border state. People who are not supposed to be here are using valuable state services.”