With the Valley of the sun under the national crosshair for being the epicenter of lagging immigration policy and federal inaction, Colombian-born and Grammy Award winner singer Shakira visited Phoenix’s City Hall to offer support to the Latino community speaking against the SB-1070 immigration law.

“I imagine that once this law takes place and becomes active these Latinos families will see themselves deprived from the protection of the government,” Shakira told the media April 29. “They will feel completely unprotected and pushed aside.”

During her press conference, city Mayor Phil Gordon, whose grandparents migrated to the United States fleeing Jewish persecution, said the city needed to move forward and defeat the SB1070

Since taking a stance against the bill signed by Brewer April 23, Gordon’s office has received numerous hate letters and faxes calling his him and his office “traitors” for turning his back on the state.

Gordon displayed one such message that came to his office via-fax during Shakira’s visit. “You are a traitor to Arizona and America,” the fax read. “That is treason. Each of you should be arrested, tried in court, found guilty of treason and hanged (in all capitals) from the nearest tree, death to traitors.”

As the mayor read the letter he reminded members of the press that his relatives perished in the Holocaust and that Arizona needed to learn from the past in order to avoid hate crimes.

“This is America, this is Arizona and this is 2010. We are not going backward. We need to go forward, so we’ll fight this,” Gordon said.

Following his statements, Gordon announced Shakira’s guest Michael Berenbaum, lecturer and expert in Jewish studies.

Later that afternoon, Shakira visited the Chicanos por la Causa Carl Hayden Youth Center and spoke with women and children who have been discriminated at the hands of Arizona enforcement, particularly Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies.

The singer later visited the city’s capitol to offer encouragement to those who have held vigil since April 19.