Save Our Sheriff

SaveOurSheriff wrote on 18 Jun 2010 17:07
Tags: arizona sos

According to President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, the Justice Department is currently in the process of deciding whether or not to file suit over Arizona's controversial immigration law, which Mr. Obama has called "misguided" and potentially discriminatory.

I woke up today and turn on CNN and report said, "Hilary Clinton drops a bomb." According to that report it, and based on recent statements by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the decision to sue Arizona has already been made.

The Arizona law, which would go into effect in July, requires immigrants in the state to carry documents verifying their immigration status and requires police officers to question a person about his or her immigration status during a "lawful stop" if there is "reasonable suspicion" that person may be in the country illegally.

Holder has indicated that he believes "the law is an unfortunate one that will be subject to potential abuse" and said that the Justice Department is "considering a court challenge."

It is not clear whether Clinton was just making a prediction or whether she was getting ahead of a planned announcement by the administration. The Justice Department said today it is continuing to review the law.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer expressed outrage Thursday over Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's comments that the Obama administration will sue over Arizona's controversial immigration law — and Brewer said she's ready for a fight.

We are not going to back away from this issue," Brewer said. "We are going to pursue it, we're going to be very aggressive," Brewer said. "We'll meet them in court … And we will win."

She added: "The population of America agrees with Arizona."

Despite the statements by Clinton, a Justice spokesman said they could not confirm whether the White House directed the department to sue. The some source said the White House would be within its rights to do so. "It would not be inappropriate for the White House to tell us to sue. It's not a criminal matter," the official said.

The law requires police investigating another incident or crime to ask people about their immigration status if there's a "reasonable suspicion" they're in the country illegally. It also makes being in Arizona illegally a misdemeanor, and it prohibits seeking day-labor work along the state's streets.

The law's stated intention is to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona and discourage them from coming in the first place. It has outraged civil rights groups, drawn criticism from Obama and led to marches and protests organized by people on both sides of the issue.

Critics say it will lead to racial profiling and discrimination against Hispanics, and damage ties between police and minority communities. The law's backers say Congress isn't doing anything meaningful about illegal immigration, so it's the state's duty to address the issue.

The Republican governor said she has sent five letters to the White House about the problem of illegal immigration in her state and all have gone unanswered.

“I’ve spoken to the President personally in regard to that,” Brewer said last week about the unanswered letters, calling the non-response a “complete and total disrespect to the people of Arizona. I mean we don’t even get an answer back.” It appears the answer has come.