According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit challenging the State of Arizona's recently enacted immigration law. The law, scheduled to take effect in late July, has been widely criticized as a discriminatory unconstitutional law that infringes on the rights of citizens and ignores the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution.
The U.S. Constitution adeptly allows Federal laws to usurp State laws in areas that require the United States to act as one rather than a multitude patchwork. In the area of Immigration, the United states must defend it's right to speak with one voice in order to maintain a rational and sensible enforcement policy and to promote the general welfare and interstate commerce of the union.
Without a challenge to Arizona's law, there would be a multitude of different state crimes, making it near impossible for a person or entity to understand when they may or may not be in violation of a law. Immigration is a topic that demands one voice. Regardless of whether you believe we should build a bubble around the U.S. or are for a more relaxed system, the legal arena in which Immigration operates, must understand the terms by which a violation does or does not occur.
While we welcome this lawsuit, we do so not as immigration advocates, but as bearers of the flame. Upholding the U.S. Constitution is a priority that advocates and restrictionists alike can celebrate.
