The Arizona immigration law was challenged in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department. The federal government is trying to stop the law from taking effect. The Arizona immigration lawsuit explains that Arizona’s new law is unconstitutional because it overrides federal immigration law. Followers of the Arizona immigration law say that a state overwhelmed with illegal immigration can’t wait for the federal government to deal with immigration reform.
As outlined by Feds, Arizona immigration law is unconstitutional
The Arizona immigration law requires state and local police to question all illegal immigrants during the enforcement of other laws. Immigrants must carry their alien registration documents at all times. As outlined by the Washington Post, the Arizona immigration lawsuit says the law illegally intrudes on federal prerogatives, invoking as its main argument the legal doctrine of “preemption,” which says federal law trumps state statutes. The Justice Department argues that enforcing immigration laws is a federal responsibility.
Immigration law violates civil rights according to Feds
The preemption doctrine is getting used within the Arizona immigration lawsuit because it was established in Supreme Court decisions. As outlined by the Post, some legal experts have said this is a good strategy to persuade a judge to declare the Arizona immigration law unconstitutional. But the Arizona immigration lawsuit also asserts the Arizona law would violate civil rights and lead to police harassment of both U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.
The epicenter of the immigration crisis is really Arizona
Arizona passed the immigration law after years of public outcry over some of the social difficulties credited to illegal immigration, including unemployment, drug trafficking and violent kidnappings. As outlined by the Associated Press reports, state is the biggest gateway to the U.S. for illegal immigration and is home to an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants. Arizona’s Republican governor, who’s Jan Brewer, has accused the Obama administration of failing to secure the border with Mexico, forcing her state to act on its own on the immigration crisis. Brewer’s spokesman told AP the governor would have preferred that the federal government focus its resources and attention on the immigration crisis rather than the Arizona immigration lawsuit.
Poll states that border security trumps immigration reform
Despite the outcry for immigration reform legislation, CNN reports that various senior Democratic sources said they see virtually no chance of Congress stepping up to deal with it before November’s midterm elections. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. national poll that was conducted in late May says nearly nine out of 10 Americans want to increase U.S. police force along the border with Mexico. Eight in 10 also supported a program that lets illegal immigrants already in the United States to stay here and apply for legal residency if they have a job and pay taxes. But just about 38 percent say that immigration reform should be a higher priority than border security.
Find more information here:
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/06/AR2010070601928.html?hpid=topnews
Associated Press
google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jup3stJNgod5yvfvOU1IInU0erAwD9GPN88G0
CNN
cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/06/arizona.immigration.lawsuit/index.html?npt=NP1
