The Morning Sun - Kansas Officials Defend AZ Statute

By Matthew Clark, The Morning Sun
Pittsburg, Kansas

TOPEKA In response to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against the state of Arizona regarding its immigration law, some Kansas lawmakers including the states attorney general are coming to the defense of the Arizona law.

U.S. Reps. Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran, both Republicans locked in a battle for the Kansas Senate seat, signed their names to friend of the court briefs in support of the law.

On Wednesday, nine states also filed an amicus brief in federal court supporting the new law, which directs officers to question people about their immigration status during the enforcement of other laws such as traffic stops and if there is reasonable suspicion they are in the country illegally.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder filed a lawsuit against Arizona and its governor on July 6.

Im disappointed by the federal governments lawsuit against the State of Arizonas illegal immigration law, said Kansas Attorney General Steve Six. Washingtons decades-long failure to enforce and modernize Americas immigration laws has forced the states to do most of the heavy lifting on the issue of immigration.

Also on Wednesday, Moran signed a brief in defense of Arizonas efforts to enforce federal immigration law.

The federal governments failure to secure the border has left states, like Arizona, to address this problem on their own, Moran said. Arizonas law is designed to assist with the enforcement of federal immigration law. We are a nation of laws and they must be enforced.

On Thursday, Tiahrt also joined with the American Center for Law and Justice, the Immigration Reform Caucus and the Federation for American Immigrant Reform in drafting a brief that also defended the Arizona law.

The Arizona immigration law is constitutional and simply reinforces current federal law, Tiahrt said. The Obama administration should not be wasting taxpayer dollars to send lawyers to Arizona when they should be sending more border patrol agents and the promised National Guard troops to protect our borders.

American Center for Law and Justice Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow echoed that sentiment in a statement.

The nine states that have signed a brief include Virginia, Michigan, Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Nebraska and South Dakota. A U.S. territory, the Northern Mariana Islands, has also joined in the brief.