Governor Brewer Files Response in United States v. Arizona

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has filed her response to the United States Government's motion for a preliminary injunction to block the implementation of SB 1070 in the United States v. Arizona litigation. Among other things, the Governor argues that the Arizona immigration law is not preempted by federal immigration law because the State of Arizona only seeks to "assist" the U.S. Government in enforcing immigration law. In addition, the Governor argues that the Arizona law is not preempted because it does not conflict with U.S. foreign policy. The governor's brief is here: (http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/documents/doc/072010_brewer_sb1070_doc). The governor's arguments are not persuasive. As the bloggers of NVL have been arguing along with numerous other legal authorities, Arizona has unconstitutionally invaded the province of the federal government to regulate immigration. To allow Arizona to prevail will lead to an intolerable situation where we could have each of the 50 states enacting their own immigration laws and policies. There should be only one immigration policy -- a federal policy. In addition, Arizona's argument that its law does not conflict with our nation's foreign policy is without merit. Mexico has already filed a brief in the SB 1070 litigation stating that the Arizona immigration statute has seriously damaged the the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. Moreover, seven other Latin American countries (Bolivia, El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru) have filed a motion seeking to join the brief filed by Mexico opposing SB 1070. (Latin American Nations Join SB 1070 Suit, KPHO.com, July 20, 2010). The federal court will hold a hearing on the federal government's motion for a preliminary injunction on July 22, 2010. The law is set to go into effect on July 29, 2010. The judge in the case has already said that she may not be able to rule in time before the law is scheduled to go into effect. Accordingly, people should be prepared for the law to go into effect on July 29, 2010.