U.S. Department of Justice files suit, seeks injunction against SB 1070

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

As anticipated, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit today against SB 1070. The lawsuit charges that the state's new immigration law is unconstitutional and requests a preliminary injunction to stop the legislation from taking effect. Justice Dept. sues, seeks injunction on Ariz. immigration law:

The lawsuit says the law illegally intrudes on federal prerogatives, invoking as 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. The Justice Department argues that enforcing immigration laws is a federal responsibility.

But the filing also asserts that the Arizona law would harm people's civil rights, leading to police harassment of U.S. citizens and foreigners.

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"Arizona impermissibly seeks to regulate immigration by creating an Arizona-specific immigration policy that is expressly designed to rival or supplant that of the federal government," the Justice Department says in its legal brief. "As such, Arizona's immigration policy exceeds a state's role with respect to aliens, interferes with the federal government's balanced administration of the immigration laws, and critically undermines U.S. foreign policy objectives."

It adds that the law "does not simply seek to provide legitimate support to the federal government's immigration policy, but instead creates an unprecedented independent immigration scheme that exceeds constitutional boundaries."

The Justice Department argues that the law would burden federal agencies, diverting resources from the pursuit of people implicated in terrorism, drug smuggling, gang activity and other crimes.

"The law's mandates on Arizona law enforcement will also result in the harassment and detention of foreign visitors and legal immigrants, as well as U.S. citizens, who cannot readily prove their lawful status," a news release said.

To support its case, Justice included declarations from Arizona law enforcement officials, including the police chiefs of Phoenix and Tucson, saying that the law would hamper their ability to effectively police their communities. The officials said crime victims or witnesses would be less likely to cooperate with law enforcement and that officers would have to be reassigned from critical areas to implement the legislation.

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The case was filed in federal court in Phoenix. A preliminary injunction halting the legislation from taking effect later this month would have to be issued by a judge.

From SCOTUSblog » US challenges AZ alien law: The complaint is here, the supporting brief is here, and the Department’s news release is here.

The case, U.S. v. Arizona, et al., has been docketed as 10-1413, and has been assigned to District Judge Neal V. Wake of Phoenix, named to the federal bench in 2004.