Arizona Governor Jan Brewer issued the following press release on March 29, 2012, about the amicus brief filed by the State of California and ten other states in opposition to Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration law known as SB 1070:
“This legal filing is pure politics and takes tortured logic and rank hypocrisy to new levels. The brief filed by California and 10 other states opposing SB 1070 begins by noting that they each ‘have a wide variety of laws affecting all persons within their borders’ and ‘seek to preserve their authority to enact and enforce such laws, even as applied to immigrants.’
“In other words, California and its fellow petitioners would like to maintain the ability to establish laws for the betterment and protection of their citizens. They’d just like to deny Arizona the right to do the same.
“A major objection raised by California and its cohorts is that ‘SB 1070’s effect is to deter immigrants’ – illegal immigrants, to be clear – ‘from living in Arizona.’ Their apparent concern is that SB 1070 would result in illegal aliens seeking safe haven in more accommodating locales elsewhere. Why the objection? Given their complaints about SB 1070, I would think these states would welcome those present illegally with open arms.
“Ironically, it is the federal government’s very focus on securing the border in California and, to a lesser extent, Texas that funneled the bulk of illegal cross-border traffic into my state. Now, Arizona bears the brunt of the crime and costs associated with illegal immigration.
“This amicus brief contains more misstatements and misrepresentations than I care to respond to here. As with many state laws, SB 1070 is written to mirror – rather than supplant – existing federal immigration law. Deportation efforts remain the sole purview of the federal government.
“I look forward to SB 1070 being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in April so that states like mine may finally receive guidance on this critical issue. States joining California in opposing Arizona in this fight may think they have little at stake. They are buffered from the troubles along our nation’s southern border by geography or, in the case of Hawaii, an entire ocean. But this debate is not just about illegal immigration. It is about every state’s authority and obligation to act in the best interest and welfare of its citizens.
“Today, the issue is SB 1070 and border security. Tomorrow, it may be a matter of the federal government standing between New York, Massachusetts or even California and the safety and welfare of their citizens. What will they say then?”
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