Attempt to Block Obama’s Lawsuit against Arizona

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Vitter and DeMintto Attempt to Block Obama's Lawsuit against Arizona

Last week, Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) introduced an amendment to the small business bill (H.R.5297) that would deny the federal government funding to sue Arizona over its recently enacted immigration enforcement law, SB 1070. The DeMint-Vitter amendment (#4464) succinctly states: "No funds made available in any provision of law may be used to participate in any lawsuit that seeks to invalidate those provisions of the Arizona Revised Statutes amended by Arizona Senate Bill 1070…." The small business bill is currently pending in the Senate and is set to be debated this week. (Politico, July 16, 2010).

In a statement released alongside the amendment, Senator DeMint remarked, "States like Arizona shouldn't be prosecuted for protecting their citizens when the federal government fails to do so. Instead of suing states for doing his job, the President should get serious and stop holding border security hostage to pass amnesty and score points with his liberal base." Senator Vitter added, "The Obama administration should not use taxpayers' money to pay for these lawsuits that the American people overwhelmingly oppose." poll released last Thursday shows that most American voters oppose the lawsuit by 59-29 percent.

But the Obama administration refuses to go after "sanctuary cities" that deliberately look the other way when it comes to illegal immigration. The Department of Justice last week responded that it will not sue these cities, which prohibit local law enforcement from inquiring about an individual's legal status or alerting immigration authorities when they encounter illegal immigrants, because it believes passive refusal to follow the law is not as egregious as Arizona's passage of a law that "actively interferes" with federal law.

Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), who authored the 1996 federal law which requires states and localities to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration enforcement, criticized the Justice Department's politically convenient stance on sanctuary cities. "For the Justice Department to suggest that they won't take action against those who passively violate the law …. is absurd," said Rep. Smith. "Will they ignore individuals who fail to pay taxes? Will they ignore banking laws that require disclosure of transactions over $10,000? Of course not."

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has also noted the irony of the Obama administration's refusal to sue localities to strike down their sanctuary policies, which she said could also be considered a "patchwork" of immigration laws across the country. Senator David Vitter (R-LA) similarly noted, "This administration's idea of immigration enforcement is to go after the states and local officials actually trying to enforce the laws on the books. They are demonizing those that look to protect our border and end illegal immigration while giving a wink and nod of approval to sanctuary cities that don't enforce our laws."