Thread: Brewer files SB 1070 brief with U.S. Supreme Court

kpho.com
By Phil Benson
Updated: Feb 06, 2012 6:45 PM EST

PHOENIX (CBS5/AP) -

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has filed an opening brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on the state's immigration enforcement law.

Brewer has asked the High Court to lift an injunction that has blocked critical provisions of SB 1070 from taking effect. The court is scheduled to hear the oral argument on April 25.

The court will review a federal appeals court's decision that upheld a judge's ruling blocking key provisions of the Arizona law.

One of those provisions requires that police, while enforcing other laws, question a person's immigration status if officers have reasonable suspicion the person is in the country illegally.

Other blocked provisions would require immigrants to obtain or carry immigration registration papers and make it a state criminal offense for an illegal immigrant to seek work or hold a job.

The U.S. Justice Department sued to challenge the law after it was enacted in 2010.

Here is the full statement issued Monday by the governor:

"Today's filing and the upcoming oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court are the culmination of a battle I pledged to fight on behalf of the people of Arizona. This debate is not just about SB 1070. Rather, it is for the constitutional principle that every state has a duty and obligation to protect its people, especially when the federal government has failed in upholding its core responsibilities.

"The people of Arizona have borne the brunt of this federal failure. We see it in our hospitals, burdened with the costs of providing care to uninsured illegal aliens. We feel it in our neighborhoods, too often victimized by drop houses and drug-runners. Meanwhile, the federal government compensates the State for just a fraction of costs Arizona incurs due to illegal immigration. SB 1070 is Arizona's way of saying, 'Enough!'

"I take heart that Arizona is not alone in this effort. States like Utah, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia have followed our lead in enacting SB 1070-style legislation, and citizens from every state in the union have supported Arizona and joined our chorus in calling for the federal government to secure the border. They know a simple truth: Arizona may be the gateway for illegal immigration, but the problems associated with a porous border do not stop in the Grand Canyon State. They spread nationwide.

"The struggle over SB 1070 has not been easy. It is emotional, as is any issue that impacts lives and livelihoods. But, as we present our legal case to the Supreme Court, I remember my words from the day I signed SB 1070 into law. 'We must use this new tool wisely,' I said, 'and fight for our safety with the honor Arizona deserves. We must react calmly. We must enforce the law evenly and without regard for skin color, accent or social status. I know in my heart that this great state, my home for more than 40 years, is up to the task.'

"I am optimistic, if the High Court overturns the injunction, the State of Arizona will yet have the chance to prove it."

Brewer files SB 1070 brief with U.S. Supreme Court - CBS 5 - KPHO

RELATED GOVERNOR JAN BREWER US SUPREME COURT SB1070 NEWS ..

Brewer files brief with Supreme Court in appeal over immigration law

Published February 06, 2012
| Associated Press

Lawyers for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer filed their opening brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in her appeal of a ruling that blocked enforcement of the most controversial sections of the state's immigration enforcement law.

The governor is asking the nation's highest court to overturn a ruling that, among other things, barred a requirement that police -- while enforcing other laws -- question the immigration status of those they suspect of being in the country illegally.

The governor said in a written statement on Monday that the debate isn't just about Arizona's immigration law. "Rather, it is for the constitutional principle that every state has a duty and obligation to protect its people, especially when the federal government has failed in upholding its core responsibilities," the governor said.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the Arizona law on April 25.

Brewer lost her first appeal in April when a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected her request to overturn a July 2010 decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton.

Bolton had blocked key provisions from going into effect, including also a requirement that immigrants get and carry registration papers. But she allowed other parts, such as a ban on obstructing traffic while seeking or offering day-labor services on streets, to take effect.

Lawyers for the governor argued that Arizona bears the brunt of America's border problems and that the 9th Circuit's decision conflicts with Supreme Court precedent.

The 9th Circuit had said the federal government is likely to be able to prove the law is unconstitutional and likely to succeed in its argument that Congress has given the federal government sole authority to enforce immigration laws.

Brewer's attorneys argued that the Arizona law doesn't impose new immigration standards, but rather seeks to use state resources to enforce federal rules.

They said the issue before the Supreme Court is whether federal immigration law trumps parts of Arizona's immigration statute, as opponents of the law have argued.

"They suggest that immigration is so different from every other area of law that even parallel efforts at cooperative law enforcement are forbidden," the governor's attorneys wrote.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which sued Arizona in a bid to invalidate the law, didn't have immediate comment late Monday afternoon on the governor's filing.

In the past, the federal government has argued the law intrudes on its exclusive authority to regulate immigration, disrupts relations between the U.S. and Mexico, hinders cooperation between state and federal officials and burdens legal immigrants.

Read more: Brewer Files Brief With Supreme Court In Appeal Over Immigration Law | Fox News

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