The Justice Department brought a much-needed perspective to the Arizona debate yesterday in its lawsuit against the state. The federal lawsuit does not address racial profiling or civil rights. Instead, the lawsuit addresses the competing goals of our immigration laws -- security, foreign relations, and humanitarian interests. The Department of Justice states very clearly in its opening paragraphs of the legal complaint:
"In our constitutional system, the federal government has preeminent authority to regulate immigration matters. This authority derives from the United States Constitution and numerous acts of Congress. The nation's immigration laws reflect a careful and considered balance of national law enforcement, foreign relations, and humanitarian interests. Congress has assigned to the United States Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and Department of State, along with other federal agencies, the task of enforcing and administering these immigration-related laws. In administering these laws, the federal agencies balance the complex – and often competing – objectives that animate federal immigration law and policy. Although states may exercise their police power in a manner that has an incidental or indirect effect on aliens, a state may not establish its own immigration policy or enforce state laws in a manner that interferes with the federal immigration laws. The Constitution and the federal immigration laws do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country."
The Justice Department's complaint led me to pause and think for a moment. Imagine if every state in the country adopted a different set of immigration laws. Imagine the confusion and chaos that would result in fifty Arizonas...or ten Arizonas, ten sanctuary states, and thirty states falling somewhere in between. The Arizona law invites racial stereotyping and wrongful arrest and detention. The ACLU lawsuit with our partners outlines those civil rights arguments. Indeed, the ACLU lawsuit also points out the dangers of a system that compels the people going about the ordinary business of their daily lives to "show your papers, please" to law enforcement.
In some ways, though, the Justice Department arguments may be more compelling to those who do not yet see racial profiling as a problem. Regardless of one's views about racial profiling, it's hard to quarrel with Attorney General Eric Holder's statement to the New York Times on the issue:
“Arizonans are understandably frustrated with illegal immigration,” Attorney General said. “But diverting federal resources away from dangerous aliens such as terrorism suspects and aliens with criminal records will impact the entire country’s safety.”
MoveOn.org and other advocacy groups urged folks to call the White House at (202) 456-1414 to thank the Administration for courageous action in suing Arizona. The language of the lawsuit demonstrates more than courage though; it demonstrates commonsense.
