DOJ lawsuit filed against Arizona & SB-1070 sets the stage for milestone ruling

As expected, The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit yesterday against Arizona’s darconian SB-1070, weeks before the law is scheduled to go into effect. SB 1070 “is pre-empted by federal law and therefore violates the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution,” legal papers filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix contend. The lawsuit says the legislation conflicts with the federal government’s need to balance the competing interests of enforcing federal immigration law with the country’s diplomatic relations with other nations, including Mexico.