WASHINGTON — The Justice Department hasn't ruled out filing a second lawsuit challenging Arizona's immigration law if evidence shows racial profiling at work, Attorney General Eric Holder says.
The Obama administration sued Arizona last week, arguing that the state is impinging on federal responsibilities for dealing with immigration. The state law requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person's immigration status if there's reasonable suspicion the person is in the country illegally. It also requires legal immigrants to carry their immigration documents.
The suit didn't deal with concerns about racial profiling so that it could focus on the most serious problem with the law, Holder said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." In six months or a year, his department might look into the law's impact on racial profiling, he said.
"If that was the case, we would have the tools and we would bring suit on that basis," Holder said.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who defends the state immigration law as constitutional, said she believes federal officials would have included racial profiling in the suit if they thought it was an issue.
"Why would they have to hesitate, after all the comments they made, and all the outrage that they made against the bill in regards to racial profiling, that it didn't show up?" Brewer told The Associated Press during a break in the National Governors Association meeting in Boston.
Brewer said she is confident that the state law can be enforced without racial profiling, which she acknowledged is against state and federal law.
"The bottom line is that people in the Southwest, particularly Arizona, we love our diversity. It's in our DNA. We are almost, I believe, colorblind," she said. "It's just not in us. We've grown up, we've lived next door, we work together, we eat together. I mean, it's so different than the issues they always want to relate to the South, you know, in regards to the civil rights issues down there."
AZMomma posted at 12:21 pm on Sun, Jul 11, 2010.
I predict that Holder will throw a Federal monkey wrench into EVERY arrest, demanding the Fed review them all.
This way, AZ Law is thwarted, frustration mounts and (he thinks) the State will finally give up because of all the red tape.
Of course, as Illegal invaders, rapists, child molesters, criminals etc. are caught and released, the rage against the Fed government will grow.
Are the Dolts in DC listening?
samkat posted at 5:42 pm on Sun, Jul 11, 2010.
Now, the question is, who is going to watch the Department of Justice since they have been caught red handed violating the civil rights of Whites?[wink]
Masterrogue666 posted at 7:35 am on Mon, Jul 12, 2010.
samkat -- Haven't you heard? White people don't have rights anymore. If we want to have a "white pride" day, et al, like non-whites do, we are automatically racist. Just like if we support sb 1070, or want to stop ILLEGAL ALIENS from coming to the USA
SunWorshiper posted at 7:36 am on Mon, Jul 12, 2010.
AZMomma - part of your prediction on the "Federal monkey" is already fact. Look around you within Maricopa County. IMHO, the lawsuits and other actions are a direct payback result of the prior enforcement of Employer Sanctions Law. There's the stripping away of "on the street" 287(g) and who is actually deported from arrests of illegals because Janet does not/never has wanted "mildly illegals" arrested. And now we have 1070 being signed and in the mix and the Feds are running to again review all decisions previously handed down from courts.
Then take a look at who is filing/funding these lawsuits, who the county players are, and all the distractions bandied about and you can see that the paths taken are decided higher than the county or state level.
resident46 posted at 7:50 am on Mon, Jul 12, 2010.
[sad]Federal Judges shouldn;t act upon the lawsuits untill the feds put a stop of any illegals coming across the border (not even one).AND take back our land in southern AZ with federal troops and real bullits.
SunWorshiper posted at 9:19 am on Mon, Jul 12, 2010.
AZ Momma - although not an advocate of cutting/pasting, here is an article that further supports my "Fed Monkey" view. Note, it's from the Milwaukee, WI, county that the lady didn't know AZ was along the border. And it's also from an area with several county sheriffs (like Maricopa's) believe in enforcing the law but are being hindered by special interest groups:
Immigration advocates says aliens arrested for traffic offenses face deportation
MILWAUKEE -- Wisconsin’s largest county is being asked to investigate a link between the sheriff’s department and the federal agency that handles illegal immigrants.
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, who heads an immigrant advocacy group, says dozens arrested by Milwaukee County deputies for traffic cases and minor crimes faced deportation in the last year – even if they were found innocent.
Neumann-Ortiz said her group, Voces de la Frontera, is also concerned that more immigrants are being improperly victimized for labor rights violations and racial profiling.
The County Board’s Judiciary Committee will take up the request for an investigation Thursday.
Carl Rusnok of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency said more immigrants have been deported in recent years because it’s more efficient to make arrests, there’s been more publicity about them, and law enforcement has more information about its criminal alien program.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke said his officers only enforce the law and do not make subjective decisions. He said he shares the same things with immigration officials that he does with the news media, including the names of those booked into the jail. Clarke says it’s wrong not to let other enforcement agencies have information that’s public.
cb_mesa posted at 10:05 pm on Mon, Jul 12, 2010.
And why would anyone have a problem with that? There is no racial profiling right? Or from what I see from the comments below, the law is really about a racist agenda.
forkedlift1 posted at 12:40 am on Thu, Jul 15, 2010.
>>"There's the stripping away of "on the street" 287(g) and who is actually deported from arrests of illegals because Janet does not/never has wanted "mildly illegals" arrested"<
Arpaio had his 287(g) "on the street" enforcement "stripped away" because he refused to comply with federal immigration enforcement policy and practice that includes the federal government's prioritization of enforcement against dangerous aliens.
Perhaps one of Arizona's most egregious deviations from federal immigration policy is pointed out in the DOJ's lawsuit.
"Enforcement of S.B. 1070 would also effectively create state crimes and sanctions for unlawful presence despite Congress's considered judgment to not criminalize such status. S.B. 1070 would thus interfere with federal policy and prerogatives in the enforcement of the U.S. Immigration laws."
hillstreet posted at 9:11 am on Thu, Jul 15, 2010.
Hey Mr. Pirate, anytime you want to put on your sheet and hood and have a White Pride day you are free to do so, nobody is stopping you.