| | 7/7/2010 - In response to the Department of Justice suing the state of Arizona and their governor yesterday in hopes of stopping the new Arizona immigration law, U.S. Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) said the lawsuit was wrong, misguided and tramples on rights of the citizens of Arizona.
“Arizona has taken a common-sense, constitutional stance to enforce the laws of the United States because the Obama Administration failed to stop the rampant illegal immigration occurring on our border and the violent acts some of those individuals are causing,” said Congressman Graves. “What makes the Department of Justice lawsuit even more incredible is that the Arizona law simply requires non-citizens to follow federal law.”
On April 23, 2010, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed Arizona Senate Bill 1070. This legislation provided Arizona with expanded enforcement capabilities to fight illegal immigration in their state and was in direct response to the growing violence along the border with Mexico and Washington D.C.’s failure to handle the issue responsibly.
“My state of Georgia ranks number seven in the nation in the number of illegal immigrants, costing our state over $1 billion annually,” said Congressman Graves. “Georgia taxpayers are tired of footing the bill for illegal immigrants. They are outraged that our borders are not secured. And they are fed up that the federal government has refused to enforce current law and, in turn, is suing a state for defending itself.”
The Department of Justice on Tuesday, July 6, 2010, filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Arizona against the state of Arizona and Governor Jan Brewer to seek a court injunction to keep the law from taking effect on July 29, 2010.
In recent months, violence has increased along the southern border directly impacting border communities and forcing states like Arizona to take action.
“The violence on America’s border is out of control and if the federal government will not do their jobs, then the people of Arizona, Georgia or any state have the right to protect themselves,” said Congressman Graves. “Instead of suing Governor Brewer and the state of Arizona, the Obama administration should live up to its promise to send the national guard to protect Arizona, finish building the border wall and enforce our federal immigration laws.”
Congressman Graves has sent a clear signal that America cannot allow illegal immigration to continue to run rampant by co-sponsoring the Charlie Norwood CLEAR Act and former Congressman Nathan Deal’s Birthright Citizenship Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The CLEAR Act would allow law enforcement to identify and remove violent criminal illegal immigrants by providing resources to local law enforcement officials. These new resources would allow local law enforcement to identify and detain the thousands of illegal aliens with criminal records. The legislation also targets cities, such as San Francisco, which have enacted laws that shield illegal immigrants from federal immigration law. With this new measure, "sanctuary cities" would lose federal funding unless local governments rescind policies that prohibit local law enforcement officials from working with the Department of Homeland Security.
The Birthright Citizenship Act would prohibit a child born in the United States from automatic citizenship if both of the parents are illegal immigrants.
Congressman Graves is a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
|
