This all but hands the fall election to the republicans.  This also    
   coming from the same Justice Department that is now being ivestigated    
   for racial bias...  It's been quite awhile since the US Surpeme Court    
   ruled on the 10th amendment.  It is long overdue.  Excellent....   
      
      
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   http://tinyurl.com/2excx7p   
      
      
      
   Feds sue to block Arizona illegal immigrant law   
      
      
   PHOENIX – The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday filed a lawsuit    
   challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's new law targeting illegal    
   immigrants, setting the stage for a clash between the federal government    
   and the state over the nation's toughest immigration crackdown.   
      
   The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix argues that    
   Arizona's law requiring state and local police to question and possibly    
   arrest illegal immigrants during the enforcement of other laws such as    
   traffic violations usurps federal authority.   
      
   "In our constitutional system, the federal government has pre-eminent    
   authority to regulate immigration matters," the lawsuit says. "This    
   authority derives from the United States Constitution and numerous acts    
   of Congress. The nation's immigration laws reflect a careful and    
   considered balance of national law enforcement, foreign relations, and    
   humanitarian interests."   
      
   The government is seeking an injunction to delay the July 29    
   implementation of the law until the case is resolved. It ultimately    
   wants the law declared invalid.   
      
   The government contends that the Arizona law violates the supremacy    
   clause of the Constitution, a legal theory that says federal laws    
   override state laws. It is already illegal under federal law to be in    
   the country illegally, but Arizona is the first state to make it a state    
   crime and add its own punishment and enforcement tactics.   
      
   State Sen. Russell Pearce, the principal sponsor of the bill co-   
   sponsored by dozens of fellow Republican legislators, denounced the    
   lawsuit as "absolute insult to the rule of law" as well as to Arizona    
   and its residents.   
      
   "It's outrageous and it's clear they don't want (immigration) laws    
   enforced. What they want is to continue their non-enforcement policy,"    
   Pearce said. "They ignore the damage to America, the cost to our    
   citizens, the deaths" tied to border-related violence.   
      
   State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat who opposes the law, said    
   the suit should help settle questions over what states can do when they    
   don't think federal laws are being adequately enforced.   
      
   "I hope this galvanizes Congress to gain the moral courage they need to    
   address this (immigration) crisis," Sinema said.   
      
   Tuesday's action has been expected for weeks. President Barack Obama has    
   called the state law misguided. Supporters say it is a reasonable    
   reaction to federal inaction on immigration.   
      
   Gov. Jan Brewer's spokesman called the decision to sue "a terribly bad    
   decision."   
      
   "Arizona obviously has a terrible border security crisis that needs to    
   be addressed, so Gov. Brewer has repeatedly said she would have    
   preferred the resources and attention of the federal government would be    
   focused on that crisis rather than this," spokesman Paul Senseman said.   
      
   Three of the five Democrats in Arizona's congressional delegation, who    
   are facing tough re-election battles, had also urged Obama not to try to    
   block the law from going into effect.   
      
   Republican Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain of Arizona also lashed out at    
   the administration's decision, saying "the American people must wonder    
   whether the Obama Administration is really committed to securing the    
   border when it sues a state that is simply trying to protect its people    
   by enforcing immigration law."   
      
   The law requires officers, while enforcing other laws, to question a    
   person's immigration status if there's a reasonable suspicion that they    
   are in the country illegally.   
      
   Arizona passed the law after years of frustration over problems    
   associated with illegal immigration, including drug trafficking and    
   violent kidnappings. The state is the biggest gateway into the U.S. for    
   illegal immigrants, and is home to an estimated 460,000 illegal    
   immigrants.   
      
   Obama addressed the Arizona law in a speech on immigration reform last    
   week. He touched on one of the major concerns of federal officials, that    
   other states were poised to follow Arizona by crafting their own    
   immigration enforcement laws.   
      
   "As other states and localities go their own ways, we face the prospect    
   that different rules for immigration will apply in different parts of    
   the country," Obama said. "A patchwork of local immigration rules where    
   we all know one clear national standard is needed."    
      
   The law makes it a state crime for legal immigrants to not carry their    
   immigration documents and bans day laborers and people who seek their    
   services from blocking traffic on streets.    
      
   The law also prohibits government agencies from having policies that    
   restrict the enforcement of federal immigration law and lets Arizonans    
   file lawsuits against agencies that hinder immigration enforcement.    
      
   Arizona State University constitutional law professor Paul Bender said    
   the federal government's involvement throws a lot of weight behind the    
   argument that federal law pre-empts Arizona's measure.    
      
   "It's important to have the federal government's view of whether state    
   law is inconsistent with federal law, and they're the best people to say    
   that," Bender said.    
      
   Kris Kobach, the University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor who    
   helped draft the Arizona law, said he's not surprised by the Justice    
   Department's challenge but called it "unprecedented and unnecessary."    
      
   He noted that the law already is being challenged by the American Civil    
   Liberties Union and other groups opposed to the new statute.    
      
   "The issue was already teed up in the courts. There's no reason for the    
   Justice Department to get involved. The Justice Department doesn't add    
   anything by bringing their own lawsuit," Kobach said in an interview.    
      
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