Immigration matters // by David B. PalinskyState of Arizona files Opening Brief in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Published 27 August 2010

State of Arizona filed an appeal of Judge Susan Bolton’s decision which accepted many of the Obama administration’s objections to the Arizona Immigration law; the appeal argues that the Arizona law does not amount to a usurpation by the state of federal power

Yesterday, 26 August 2010, the State of Arizona filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco its Opening Brief in seeking to overturn the decision of District Court Judge Susan Bolton enjoining enforcement of parts of Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 (see Palinsky’s analyses in the Homeland Security News Wire of 29 July 2010, 30 July 2010, 2 August 2010, and 20 August 2010).

Generally, Arizona claims that:

  1. Judge Bolton erred in concluding that S.B. 1070 impedes Congressional objectives by placing an unconstitutional burden on “aliens” lawfully present in the United States;
  2. S.B. 1070 does not impermissibly reprioritize Congressional objectives in enforcement of immigration laws thereby adversely effecting the allocation of federal resources;
  3. S.B. 1070 cannot stand as an obstacle to Congressional objectives as it only mandates compliance with existing federal law;
  4. S.B. 1070’s “Unauthorized Employment” provisions neither conflict with federal law nor attempt to regulate a “federally-occupied field”; and,
  5. Because S.B. 1070’s “Warrantless Search” provisions could possibly be applied in a constitutionally permissible manner they should be allowed to stand.

I will discuss this late-breaking and dynamic story in more detail as this particular aspect of the heated immigration debate unfolds.

David Palinsky, Homeland Security NewsWire’s legal analyst, isan attorney specializing in immigration cases involving employment-based immigration related to the homeland security, hi-tech, and services sectors. Nothing contained herein should be construed as legal advice.