ASPEN — U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder defended a Department of Justice lawsuit against Arizona for the state’s new immigration law, saying the law is unconstitutional. He spoke before a full crowd at the Benedict Music Tent on Thursday in an Aspen Ideas Festival event.
The Justice Department is facing criticism from Republicans and some Democrats over the suit, filed two days ago. Critics say it punishes the state for attempting to adjust for shortfalls in federal immigration oversight.
Arizona’s statute requires state law enforcement to determine the immigration status of those stopped for another offense based on a “reasonable suspicion” that they might be illegal immigrants.
Holder said the lawsuit has nothing to do with any racial profiling implications in the new law; instead, the court action focuses on constitutional jurisdiction of immigration policy enforcement. He said the law effectively skirts the federal government’s constitutional purview over foreign affairs.
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