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if so...
what are the charges?

signs point to Obama adm. suit against AZ law

From NBC's Pete Williams
Justice Department officials say it's only a matter of when -- not if -- the federal government will sue Arizona over its new immigration law.
Justice Department lawyers have been working for weeks to draft their complaint, an effort that is not yet complete, officials say. Though the lawsuit will likely not be filed within the next several days, the government's goal is to go to court before the Arizona law takes effect in late July.
A comment earlier this month by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which came to light late this week, has caused a stir. Asked about the Arizona law in a June 8 television interview in Ecuador, Clinton said: "President Obama has spoken out against the law
because he thinks ....(lets read that again "he thinks"..."thinks" "thinks" ) that the federal government should be determining immigration policy. And the Justice Department, under his direction, will be bringing a lawsuit against the act."

Though her statement contradicted the Obama administration's public line -- that the issue of a lawsuit was "under review " -- it accurately captured what officials say is the virtually certain outcome. Attorney General Eric Holder has repeatedly expressed concern about the law, and he recently met with a group of police chiefs who oppose it.
Nonetheless, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) said she was "stunned and angered" by Clinton's flat-out statement that a lawsuit is coming.
"If our own government intends to sue our state to prevent illegal immigration enforcement, the least it can do is inform us before it informs the citizens of another nation," she said in a statement from her office.

The Justice Department has had weeks in which to act and nothing has happened. Also, they have not identified which provision of the U.S. Constitution or federal law that they believe would be violated by the Arizona law.

Immigration control is a federal responsibility. For that we have the border patrol. The Arizona law does nothing to prevent illegals from crossing the border. For example, it does not call for Arizona police to guard the border.

What it would do is to help local law enforcement to identify illegal aliens who are present in the state and turn them over to federal authorities for repatriation to their homeland. This would apply to illegal aliens from any nation, not just Mexico.

What does the Arizona law do?

Arizona's law orders immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times ( isn't EVERYONE required to have Drivers license for most transactions that require an ID, ie: open a bank account, write a check, etc. or some type of ID? ..even if NOT required, doesn't it present a small problem when questioned by Law Enforcement?) and requires police to question people if there's reason to suspect they're in the United States illegally.
It also targets those who hire illegal immigrant laborers or knowingly transport them. (SEE Federal Immigration and Nationality Act
Section 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv)(b)(iii)


Are other states considering similar legislation?
Michael Hethmon, general counsel for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, helped draft the language of the Arizona bill. Hethmon said lawmakers from four other states have approached him asking for advice on how they can do the same thing where they live. He declined to identify which states, citing attorney-client privilege
State laws relating to immigration have increased in recent years, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In 2005, 300 bills were introduced. The next year, that number nearly doubled, and in 2007, more than 1,500 bills were introduced. Another 1,305 were introduced in 2008, and about 1,500 were considered in 2009.
About 15 percent of those were enacted, dealing with issues such as driver's licenses, health and education.
About 1,000 bills have been brought up so far this year.
What do opponents say?
Critics, including immigrant advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, say they are concerned the law will foster racial profiling, ( uhh...well, it's not Nigerians coming across the Mexican/American border ) arguing that most police officers don't have enough training to look past race while investigating a person's legal status. (so, our Law enforcement officers are "racist"?)

Is federal immigration legislation coming?
Democrats tell CNN that if they don't get Republican commitments soon, they likely will push to move a bill without GOP support.
Democratic sources said the chances of passing immigration reform in that scenario this year are slim, but they want to make clear to key constituencies they are at least trying.
President Obama is still pushing for a bill, though. (12 million more Democrat voters?)
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is the only GOP senator on board, but he has told Democrats they will lose his support unless they find another Republican.
Obama recently called Sen. Scott Brown, R-Massachusetts, to try to get him on board, a Brown spokeswoman said.
On Thursday, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, said in a statement that during tough economic conditions, Americans are "dubious" about immigration reform.
He said the White House and Congress should not immediately take up the issue -- but instead "take targeted steps to deal with the crisis at the border, increase the usage of the E-Verify program, and enhance prosecutions of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers."
The last immigration reform efforts in Congress were in 2005 when Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, Brown's predecessor, introduced a bipartisan bill that aimed to implement guest-worker programs and ways for more illegal immigrants to become citizens.
The McCain-Kennedy bill, however, never came up for a vote in the Senate.
Other legislative efforts have failed to gain momentum
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