Latin America: Week in Review, United States
Obama Administration Files Lawsuit Against Arizona’s Immigration Law
July 7, 2010 By Staff
People protesting for immigration reform during a rally in Washington D.C.
Today in Latin America
Top Story — The Department of Justice Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Arizona arguing that the state’s new immigration law undermines federal government’s work to pursue terrorists, gang members and other criminal immigrants.
The lawsuit, which has been talked about since June, says that Arizona’s law usurps powers to control immigration that is reserved for federal authorities. The suit also adds to another one brought against the state by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund as well as other civil rights groups.
The Arizona law, called the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, requires police officers to check the immigration status of people they stop, if there is reason to suspect that they are undocumented immigrants. The law also restricts the hiring or transportation of day laborers, and allows for lawsuits against government agencies not enforcing immigration laws.
“Arizonans are understandably frustrated with illegal immigration,” said Attorney General Eric Holder, according to the New York Times. “But diverting federal resources away from dangerous aliens such as terrorism suspects and aliens with criminal records will impact the entire country’s safety.”
The lawsuit is expected to create a battle in the Supreme Court over state versus federal power. While federal courts typically favor giving the federal government wider room to regulate matters regarding immigration, recently courts have also allowed state laws that rely on federal laws.
Legal experts have pointed out that the language of the Arizona law that is a weak point is that it makes unlawful presence in the country a state crime.
“I think the federal government is going to win and the Arizona law is going to be shown to be unconstitutional,” said Karl M. Manheim, professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Arizona law also caused the cancellation of the 28th annual conference between governors from U.S.-Mexico border states. All six Mexican border governors wrote to Arizona governor Jan Brewer, whose state was to host this year’s conference, saying that they were boycotting the conference.
Brewer responded last week to governors on both sides of the border saying she had cancelled the conference.
“I am disappointed by your decision,” Brewer said in a letter, according to the New York Times. “I sincerely believe the gathering of the governors in Arizona would have presented a great platform to initiate dialogue about the legislation and other topics of great importance to the border region.”
Just Published at the Latin America News Dispatch
- For a more in depth analysis of the U.S. government’s lawsuit against Arizona, read Alison Bowen’s blog, Beyond Borders.
Headlines from the Western Hemisphere
North America
- The Mexico City government reported that 271 gay weddings have taken place in the city since gay marriage was legalized on March 4.
Caribbean
- The Cuban government said that hunger-striking Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas, in jail for allegedly buying black-market cement, is in danger of dying from a dangerous blood clot.
- Puerto Rico may face its worst-ever outbreak of dengue fever, according to Health Secretary Lorenzo González Feliciano.
Central America
- President Obama is seeking a deadline for free trade deals with Panama and Colombia that are “almost entirely to the benefit of American exporters”, according to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
- Former President Bill Clinton and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim have scheduled a trip to Honduras in November to promote private investment.
- A Colombian colonel will work with Guatemalan authorities and the Chilean Carabineros to help reform the country’s police and justice system.
Andes
- Venezuela will extradite a Salvadoran man named Francisco Chávez Abarca to Cuba, where he is wanted for several 1997 bombing attempts in Havana.
- Venezuela pledged 2.4 billion dollars in aid to the Haiti earthquake relief effort, according to a political analyst.
- Colombian drug lord “Beto” Renteria was captured in Venezuela and will be extradited to the U.S., where his cartel allegedly shipped 500 metric tons of cocaine.
Southern Cone
- The governments of Brazil and Kenya announced the signing of a series of new trade deals to enhance biodiesel production in the African nation.
- Argentina announced that it will not sell government stakes in local companies after nationalizing private sector pension funds in 2008.
- Uruguay, the sole-surviving Latin American nation left in the World Cup, lost to the Netherlands 3-2 Tuesday and will play in Saturday’s 3rd-place match.
- A Paraguayan model announced she would keep her promise to run nude through Asunción despite the country’s World Cup elimination.
Image: Photo by Arasmus Photo.
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