Department Will Take Arizona to Court

Speaking in Ecuador today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton let slip that the Justice Department plans to file suit against Arizona for its controversial immigration law. "President Obama has spoken out against the law because he thinks that the federal government should be determining immigration policy," Clinton said. "And the Justice Department, under his direction, will be bringing a lawsuit against the act." The statement is the first acknowledgement that the administration plans to take Arizona to court, and while the Department of Justice didn't confirm Clinton's remarks, it didn't deny them, either. "The department continues to review the law," a spokesman told the Huffington Post. The news comes only several days after Obama met with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer about the law, which makes it easier for police to question people about their immigration status. On Thursday, Brewer launched a fundraising Web site, keepazsafe.com, to pay for a legal defense fund to fight challenges to the law. But despite government opposition, polls suggest that the public may be on Arizona's side: A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that six out of 10 Americans support the law, and 46 percent think that states should be in control of their own immigration laws.


Read original story in The Right Scoop | Thursday, June 17, 2010