Attorney General Terry Goddard Statement on SB 1070 Lawsuit

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from Attorney General Terry Goddard:

PHOENIX — Today the U.S. Department of Justice announced it will take action to prevent SB 1070 from becoming law by filing suit against the controversial bill.

"What we need are solutions, not lawsuits. Until we get real solutions, more states will turn to band-aid remedies to address this very important issue," said Attorney General Terry Goddard. "It is disappointing to see the federal government choosing to intervene in a state statute instead of working with Arizona to create sustainable solutions to the illegal immigration issue that our state and country so desperately need."

Attorney General Goddard has repeatedly called on the federal government to pass comprehensive immigration reform that includes three key elements:

• Additional resources for securing the porous border.
• Cracking down on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
• Requiring people here illegally to get right with the law by paying back taxes, a meaningful fine, learning English, passing a criminal background check and getting to the back of the line of people who have applied for citizenship.

As Attorney General, Goddard has worked to improve border security by leading the fight against crime committed by the Mexican drug and human-smuggling cartels.  He has cracked down on cross-border violence and cut the cash pipeline for Mexican drug cartels and human traffickers. Goddard negotiated a $94 million settlement with Western Union to stop the Mexican drug cartels' money laundering operations and used that money to fund the Southwest Border Alliance, which he created to ensure that police, sheriffs and border patrol agents have the resources needed to work together and protect our border.