Justice Department Files Suit Against Arizona
The Justice Department has officially filed suit against Arizona's new immigration enforcement law. The Obama Administration has been critical of the state's law since its passing several months ago and will now challenge the section that allows local police officers to question an individual's citizenship status, saying it usurps federal law.
The federal government will seek an injunction, preventing the law from going into effect on July 29 until the case is reviewed.
The Obama Administration will use the Constitution's Supremacy Clause in their case against Arizona. The Supremacy Clause states that federal law supersedes state law, and the Administration contends that the Arizona law goes beyond federal immigration enforcement statutes.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer says the federal government's decision to sue is a bad idea.
"Arizona obviously has a terrible border security crisis that needs to be addressed, so Gov. Brewer has repeatedly said she would have preferred the resources and attention of the federal government would be focused on that crisis rather than this," Gov. Brewer's spokesman Paul Senseman said.
Shortly after the laws final passage, Pres. Obama announced that he would send 1,200 Border Patrol troops to the Arizona border to assist Border Patrol agents with their daily duties. He has yet to send the troops.
Three Democratic House Members from Arizona have asked the Administration not to sue.
"This lawsuit is a sideshow, distracting us from the real task at hand," Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick said in a statement released on Tuesday. "A court battle between the federal government and Arizona will not move us closer to securing the border or fixing America's broken immigration system."
For more information, see the Associated Press and the Washington Post.