Politics Before Law in Obama’s Arizona Suit

Hans von Spakovsky / July 07, 2010

The Justice Department filed its expected lawsuit against Arizona’s new immigration law (S.B. 1070) yesterday and issued a press release trumpeting its action. It is clear from reading the lawsuit and the press release that politics—not an objective analysis of Arizona’s law—is driving the Justice Department’s action.

This should be no surprise to anyone given the Justice Department’s recent politicized actions in other matters like the New Black Panther voter intimidation case. But it should concern everyone who understands the enormous power of federal prosecutors and the danger posed by an Attorney General who is willing to use that power to achieve the President’s partisan political objectives rather than the interests of justice and the impartial enforcement of the law. The claims made in the case range from ridiculous to being very revealing (perhaps unintentionally) about the Administration’s apparent views about immigration policy. (more…)