Million Undocumented Immigrants Dept: Enforcement of immigration laws falls under federal jurisdiction and many legal experts believe Arizona’s bill, which the state’s Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed into law Friday, is unconstitutional. But Ms. Brewer, who faces several challengers in her bid for the Republican nomination in this fall’s governor’s race, insisted the new law is required to address a “crisis the federal government refuses to fix.” The Arizona legislation has also had the effect of pushing immigration reform to the top of Washington’s agenda as Democrats seek to defuse a potentially explosive social powder keg and consolidate their advantage with the country’s fastest growing group of voters. The President Friday attacked the Arizona bill and underscored the need for action by Congress. Arizona’s drastic action has forced the President to take a more aggressive stand in favour of comprehensive reform this year – including a path to citizenship for the country’s estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants – after the state’s Republican led Senate passed legislation requiring local police to demand proof of immigration status if they have a “reasonable suspicion” that a person is in the country illegally. The bill has mobilized Hispanics and immigration advocates across the country – thousands protested in Phoenix Friday – and prompted charges of politically motivated racial profiling against Arizona’s Senate and House of Representatives, which first adopted the legislation last week. As
reported in the news.
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