Obama Attacks Arizona Immigration Law

Obama attacks Arizona Immigration Law

The federal government has failed to secure the border. Arizona – on the frontlines of dealing the violence, drug cartels and human smuggling – was forced to address the situation on its own.
Arizona voters support the law, and the Court affirmed the right of Arizona and other states to enforce already existing federal immigration law.
It’s time for the Obama administration to focus on securing the border and dealing with this serious issue rather than suing states that are struggling to clean up the federal government’s mess.

Background:
     • In 2010, the Arizona House and Senate passed SB1070 and Governor Jan Brewer signed it into law. The law says that during an otherwise lawful stop, detention or arrest, a law enforcement officer is required to make an effort to determine an individual’s legal status if they have reasonable suspicion to believe that individual is in the country illegal. An Arizona driver’s license is one of several documents that can be used to confirm legal status.
    • The law specifically prohibits racial profiling.
    • The Obama administration sued Arizona in an effort to stop the implementation of the law. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder admitted they had not read the 16-page bill despite criticizing it.
   • Arizona Democrat Congressman Raul Grijalva, the city of San Francisco, and several left-wing groups and public employee unions called for a boycott of Arizona.
Facts:
   • Public polling following passage showed that as many as 70 percent of Arizonans and more than half of Americans approved of the law.
   • Governor Jan Brewer’s approval rating shot from 40 percent to 56 percent after signing SB1070. Six months later, she won her election with 55 percent of the vote.
Court ruling:
   • The Court threw out 3 of 4 provisions, but upheld the key provision of the law, requiring law enforcement officers to make a reasonable attempt to determine an individual’s legal status if they have reasonable suspicion to believe that individual is in the country illegal.
   • The Obama administration argued that the law infringed on the federal government’s immigration-enforcement responsibilities, but Court said that argument did not have merit.