Alexander Presses Federal Court to Reject DOJ Suit Challenging Arizona Immigration Law

Statement

U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, today issued the following remarks after he joined 81 Members of Congress in support of Arizona's new immigration law which is being challenged in federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice:

"State governments have every right to implement measures that protect the American people. They should be able to do so without interference especially when the problem has largely been ignored by the federal government.

"For far too long, the residents of Arizona have gone without serious enforcement of current federal immigration laws. As a result, the state of Arizona took a proactive approach to restore order and protect their communities.

"Now, the state of Arizona has been sued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the recently passed state law, S.B. 1070 -- the product of their proactive approach.

"This law mirrors existing federal law by directing law enforcement, in the course of a lawful stop, detention or arrest, and when reasonable suspicion exists, to determine the immigration status of the person in question. While opponents of S.B. 1070 say it promotes racial profiling, the DOJ found no legal grounds to validate those claims and thus did not include that argument in the complaint. Rather, the complaint includes a mix of arguments, centered mainly on the Supremacy Clause and federal preemption precedent.

"To show my support for Arizona's rights, I was proud to join my colleagues in filing an amicus brief which explains why Arizona's law is completely within bounds as well as urges the federal court in Phoenix to deny the federal government's motion for a preliminary injunction against the Arizona law.

"Instead of wasting time and energy suing the state of Arizona, the administration should be devoting its resources to enforcing border security."

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