So it's official: Obama's Justice Department will announce this week that it's suing Arizona to overturn the onerous immigration law.
In case you doubt that this will revive the national yelling match over immigration, the two Republican Senators from Arizona , John McCain and Jon Kyl, are already out with a statement bashing the decision as proof that the Obama administration is weak on enforcement:
"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.
"Attorney General Holder speaks of the 'federal government's responsibility' to enforce immigration laws; but what are the people of Arizona left to do when the federal government fails in its responsibility?
"The Obama Administration has not done everything it can do to protect the people of Arizona from the violence and crime illegal immigration brings to our state. Until it does, the federal government should not be suing Arizona on the grounds that immigration enforcement is solely a federal responsibility."
It will be interesting to see how directly Obama takes ownership of the lawsuit, given that it's being initiated by his Justice Department, which in theory makes such decisions independently.
The White House is reported to be worried that Obama's dip in popularity among Latinos will adversely impact the 2010 and 2012 elections. Harry Reid also needs big Latino support to win reelection. Hence Obama's recent high-profile speech on immigration reform. In that speech, Obama didn't lay out any specific policies or timelines, leading many to speculate that immigration reform may not move this year.
But a major, high-profile lawsuit like this one could do nearly as much as a legislative push on the issue to excite Latino and other Dem base voters, at least in the short term. It could restart the national argument over immigration, push the issue to the forefront again, and demonstrate the Obama administration's willingness to use the power of the Federal government to defend Latinos' civil rights. Gonna get hot.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Thursday, July 8th 2010 at 2:06PM
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