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Justice Department To File a Lawsuit Against Arizona Over Immigration Law

Posted July 6, 2010 by Ted Hesson
Categories: Federal Immigration Policy, Categories: National

On the heels of a national address by President Obama last Thursday in which he acknowledged the need for comprehensive immigration reform, the Justice Department will file suit against Arizona over the state’s draconian immigration law. The president has called the law “misguided.”

The Washington Post reports:

The Justice Department has decided to file suit against Arizona on grounds that the state’s new immigration law illegally intrudes on federal prerogatives, law enforcement sources said Monday.

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.

Not surprisingly, opponents and supporters of the law disagree as to whether the law will be declared unconstitutional. From the Post:

The preemption doctrine has been established in Supreme Court decisions, and some legal experts have said such a federal argument likely would persuade a judge to declare the law unconstitutional.

But lawyers who helped draft the Arizona legislation have expressed doubt that a preemption argument would prevail. The law, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer (R) in April, is scheduled to take effect later this month.

Tags : arizona, justice department, obama, sb 1070

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