23 Nov 2011
Department of Justice Challenges Utah’s Immigration Law
"The
Department of Justice today challenged Utah’s immigration law, which
comes after recent lawsuits in Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina.
In a complaint, filed in the District of Utah, the department states
that several provisions of Utah’s H.B. 497 are preempted by federal law.
The provisions were enacted on March, 15, 2011.
The department’s lawsuit comes after several months of constructive
discussions with Utah state officials. Notwithstanding today’s lawsuit,
department officials expect this important dialogue to continue. The department’s complaint states that H.B. 497 clearly violates the
Constitution because it attempts to establish state-specific immigration
policy. The law creates and mandates immigration enforcement measures
that interfere with the immigration priorities and practices of the
federal government in a way which is not cooperative with the primary
federal role in this area.
The law’s mandates on law enforcement could lead to harassment and
detention of foreign visitors and legal immigrants who are in the
process of having their immigration status reviewed in federal
proceedings and whom the federal government has permitted to stay in
this country while such proceedings are pending. The federal government has the ultimate authority to enforce federal
immigration laws and the Constitution does not permit a patchwork of
local immigration policies.
A state setting its own immigration policy interferes with the federal government’s enforcement efforts." - DOJ, Nov. 22, 2011.