US Sues Arizona On Immigration Status Checks
On July 6, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has sued the State of Arizona over the state’s law, SB 1070. This law, which goes into effect in late July, requires Arizona police, when stopping a person for some other violation, to check the person’s immigration status if they believe that person may be an undocumented immigrant.
In its suit the federal government claims SB 1070 unconstitutionally interferes with the federal government’s authority to set and enforce immigration policy. In a press release the DOJ said, "the constitution and federal law do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country." The DOJ added that such a patchwork would seriously disrupt federal immigration enforcement.
The brief submitted to the court declares that SB 1070 would, if enforced, require federal agencies to devote significant resources to processing immigrants who are here without the proper documents, but who, otherwise, are breaking no laws. The brief contends that this would mean those agencies would have significantly fewer resources to fight immigrants who are terrorists or who are engaging in drug smuggling or gang activities. Also, enforcement of SB 1070, would result in the needless harassment of foreign visitors, legal immigrants, and even US citizens who cannot quickly prove their lawful status.
The Chiefs of Police of Phoenix and Tuscon Arizona submitted declarations to the court saying that the enforcement of SB 1070 will hamper their ability to effectively police their cities. They said it would discourage victims or witnesses of crimes from reporting those crimes to the police. In addition, they said, it would require them to reassign officers from critical law enforcement areas such as violent crimes, property crimes, and home invasions.'
To see a copy of the Department of Justice brief in this case click US Sues Arizona.
Boyce Hinman
California Communities United Institute