9 States Back Arizona Immigration Law

In a legal brief that was held this morning on behalf of 9 states, Michigan attorney general Mike Cox echoed the belief that states have the authority to enforce immigration laws and protect their borders. Michigan is the lead state backing Arizona and is joined by Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia in addition to the Northern Mariana Islands. Cox pointed out that 9 states supporting Arizona represented "a lot of states" since Monday when Cox asked other state attorney generals to join him.

According to the Associated Press, the Arizona law, which is to take effect July 29, directs officers to question people about their immigration status during enforcement of other laws and if there is suspicion that a person is in the U.S. illegally. Arizona passed this law after years of gangs, violence, and drug crimes associated with illegal immigrants. Furthermore, a lack of action from the federal government on such issues prompted the state to take matters into their own hands.

The Obama administration recently flied a lawsuit against Arizona in federal court, arguing that the Arizona law "seriously disrupts federal immigration enforcement." However, supporters of the bills are quick to point out that Congress has not taken any meaningful action in helping states cope with illegal immigration.

Although the Department of Justice is suing Arizona, they will not be taking legal action against the 33 sanctuary cities that block any officials from enforcing immigration laws and ban police from inquiring about a person's immigration status. Since 1996 is has been illegal for states and municipalities to take measures that interfere with the reporting of illegal immigrants to the federal government, yet these cities violate that law. In his article for the Miami Examiner, James Garton expresses the concerns of many, "...the Obama administration ignores the violation of this 1996 law that was signed by then President Bill Clinton. Instead, the administration will target the Arizona law for supposed interference of immigration enforcement."

The brief this morning also points to the fact that the Obama Administration seeks to negate the pre-existing power of the state to protect its borders with a lawsuit instead of federal legislation. In doing so, the brief states that the president and his administration seek to reject the assistance that the states can legally provide the federal government. Opponents of the bill say that this assistance is overstepping the boundaries of the state powers.

Immigration reform has been a hot issue for many years with little to no solutions. This inability to provide some sort of relief is due to differences in how the matter should be addressed. The passing of the Arizona law and the subsequent reactions on either side are further proof that this issue will not be going away any time soon.

Sources:
The Washington Times
Associated Press
Miami Examiner