Hundreds of people marched in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday afternoon in protest of SB 1070.

An SB 1070 protester in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday. (Photo by Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez)

The group gathered after the U.S. Supreme Court hearing on the controversial immigration bill.  As Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez reports, opponents say they will continue to protest regardless of what the court decides.

NADINE ARROYO RODRIGUEZ: About 300 people packed the Civic Plaza Center in downtown Phoenix. Civil rights organizers, Native Americans, and other ethnics groups joined the gathering. The march started at the plaza, went past Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office and ended at the Phoenix headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Carlos Garcia leads the immigrant rights group Puente. He says even if the Supreme Court decides to uphold part or all of SB 1070, the community will fight back.

CARLOS GARCIA: We’re gonna continue to organize forums, actions, what ever it is we need to do. So for us the fight doesn’t stop there, it continues until we stop and put an end to family separation here in Arizona.

ARROYO RODRIGUEZ: Melanie Renteria came with her two sons. She’s a third generation Mexican-American and with a statue of the Virgin Mary in her arms- says she had to be here to protest the unfair treatment of Latinos.

MELANIE RENTERIA: I’ve been stereotyped since this has happened. And it’s been heartbreaking.

ARROYO RODRIGUEZ: Earlier in the day a small group with the Arizona Tea Party rallied in favor of SB 1070 at the state capitol. Meanwhile, in Washington, Governor Jan Brewer released a statement Wednesday saying she was filled with optimism the court will rule in Arizona’s favor.

Listen to KJZZ's Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez's live report.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Carlos Garcia's last name. Updated 4/26/2012 at 12:09 a.m.