Rep. Pastor "Hopeful' Federal Suit Would Prevent Implementation of SB 1070

Statement

U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., issued the following statement
today in reaction to the announcement that the Department of Justice has filed a
lawsuit against Arizona charging that S.B. 1070, the state's new immigration law,
is unconstitutional, and seeking a preliminary injunction to block it from taking
effect.

"From the moment that S.B. 1070 was signed into law by Governor Jan
Brewer, I have called for the federal government to pursue a lawsuit to permanently
enjoin the enforcement of this divisive and harmful legislation," Pastor
said. "Therefore, I am pleased with the Department of Justice's decision to take
action by filing a lawsuit in federal court in order to prevent the law's implementation.
"Under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, the federal
government has the exclusive authority to set immigration policy and enforce immigration law. As the lawsuit will argue, the State of Arizona is constitutionally
preempted from enacting its own immigration policy. Furthermore, by creating an
unprecedented, independent state immigration policy, S.B. 1070 would seriously
interfere with federal immigration enforcement by diverting critical law enforcement
resources from the most serious threats to public safety and could lead to the
creation of a patchwork of inconsistent state and local immigration schemes. For
these reasons, the implementation of S.B. 1070 would cause irreparable harm to
Arizona, our people, and our nation.

"Therefore, I am encouraged by today's announcement and remain hopeful
that this lawsuit will result in a permanent injunction that will prevent S.B. 1070
from ever taking effect," Pastor concluded.

Source