Feds sue Arizona on Immigration Law

Breaking news from the Washington Post. The Federal Government has filed suit against Arizona over the controversial new immigration law.

From the story:

The lawsuit, which three sources said could be filed as early as Tuesday, will invoke for its main argument the legal doctrine of “preemption,” which is based on the Constitution’s supremacy clause and says that federal law trumps state statutes. Justice Department officials believe that enforcing immigration laws is a federal responsibility, the sources said.

But the filing is likely to have a civil rights component as well, arguing that the Arizona law would lead to police harassment of U.S. citizens and foreigners, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the government has not announced its plans. President Obama has warned that the law could violate citizens’ civil rights, and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has expressed concern that it could drive a wedge between police and immigrant communities.

A federal lawsuit will dramatically escalate the legal and political battle over the Arizona law, which gives police the power to question anyone if they have a “reasonable suspicion” that the person is an illegal immigrant. In addition to Obama and Holder, the measure has drawn words of condemnation from civil rights groups and has prompted at least five other lawsuits. Arizona officials have defended the law and urged the Obama administration not to sue.

7 Comments

  1. California Has An Immigration Law Just Like Arizona.
    http://friendsoftheconstitution.us/?p=404

    It’s constitutional for States to place federal immigration law into their State law. There’s only a legal problem when the State’s law is stricter than the federal law. There’s no “supremacy clause” problem here; and Attorney General Holder and Obama know it, – they’re just enemies of the Constitution and traitors. Impeach Obama.

  2. Frankly, I am surprised that the Federal Government really wants to open “Pandora’s Box,” on the issue of Immigration. I suspect that this law suit is merely a knee jerk reaction of the Obama Administration, pandering to the Hispanic vote. However, what will be opened up for the rest of the country to see is the disgraceful and dysfunctional state of the Federal Government on Immigration and Homeland Security. The Feds have to know that the State of Arizona will be dragging all the dirty laundry out, to defend their position. With all that dirt hitting the light of day about the same time as the November election, someone in the Obama Administration did not have their intelligence hat on. Of course as we have seen from most of the insiders, Czars and Administration misfits, intelligence is not a big commodity in Washington D.C. these days. It will be an interesting case to watch.

  3. To CPA

    Article VI, Clause 2 (“The Supremacy Clause”) of the U.S. Constitution specifically and explicitly restricts the states by declaring that the laws and treaties adopted by Congress “shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”

    If you have a problem with that, take it up with the Founding Fathers.

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