WOOHOO! Some High Court Sanity!

Well its about time someone has finally come to the ONLY conclusion that laws that have been on the books since inception might finally be enforced! Reality, what a concept!

The United States Supreme Court just handed the American people and the rule of law a tremendous victory in to war to enforce our nation’s laws against illegal immigration…
And thanks to your support, your Judicial Watch was in the middle of this historic battle!

By a 5-3 vote, the High Court has upheld the constitutionality of the “Legal Arizona Workers Act” – a groundbreaking piece of legislation crafted by Judicial Watch client, Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce.

Senator Pearce’s legislation does two things: It penalizes businesses that knowingly hire illegal aliens; and it requires all Arizona employers to use the federal E-Verify system to confirm the eligibility of new employees (a system that determines if the individual is in the country legally).
It is a tough law aimed directly at the root cause of the illegal immigration scourge affecting our nation…the lure of jobs offered to illegal immigrants by unscrupulous employers who put profits ahead of respect for the law!

This is a huge victory for Judicial Watch supporters and the rule of law, and a huge setback for the Obama administrations’ efforts to gut enforcement of our immigration laws.

This decision will have an enormously positive impact on states across the country seeking to ease the burdens caused by rampant illegal immigration.

State Senate President Pearce carefully crafted this legislation to be entirely consistent with federal law. Sen. Pearce had this to say about this Supreme Court ruling: “My legislation is based on a simple but powerful solution to the illegal immigration crisis – enforce the law. It would be ideal if the federal government would do its job and secure the border. However, in the absence of leadership from Washington, states like Arizona have a responsibility to protect their citizens and uphold the law.”

In ruling for Arizona, the High Court decisively rejected the arguments by the open-borders U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its radical allies (backed by the open-borders Obama administration) that the State of Arizona has no authority to legislate on immigration-related matters which, they had unsuccessfully argued, is the exclusive right of the federal government.

The majority opinion of Chief Justice John Roberts echoed the “friend of the court” brief that Judicial Watch filed on behalf of Senator Pearce when he wrote:

“Arizona has taken the route least likely to cause tension with federal law. It relies solely on the federal government’s own determination of who is an unauthorized alien, and it requires Arizona employers to use the federal government’s own system for checking employee status.”

I cannot overstate the importance of this victory – nor can I understate the importance your past and continued support!

Most importantly, this ruling gives a major “green light” to states across the country to enact similar measures aimed at cracking down on the illegal hiring of illegal immigrants.

We are very pleased that the Supreme Court recognized once again the critical role states must play in enforcing our nation’s immigration laws. The Obama administration’s lax enforcement, sanctuary policies and amnesty only serve to worse the problem.

And the now the U.S. Supreme Court agrees!

Long-time Judicial Watch supporters will remember one of our first major battles back in 2005 when we went to court to block the use of taxpayer funds to support an illegal immigrant “day laborer” site in Virginia.

We took on that case because we believed, and still do, that it is morally and legally wrong to use taxpayer funds to support an activity that violates federal law…the hiring of illegal immigrants.

Ever since we won that battle we have been fighting to overturn “sanctuary” programs at the state and local levels all across the country.

Secondly, the Court’s reasoning in this new E-verify ruling case gives us real hope that down the road it will find that Senator Pearce’s “flagship” illegal immigration enforcement legislation (SB 1070) passes constitutional muster as well.

As you know, Judicial Watch is also representing the entire Arizona State Legislature, as well as Senator Pearce, against Obama administration attacks on SB 1070 (the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act”).

This legislation enacts a series of law enforcement provisions to protect its citizens from serious public safety concerns driven by illegal immigration. And just like the “Legal Arizona Workers Act,” it is written to complement, not challenge or exceed existing federal immigration law.

The Legislature and the people of Arizona are being opposed in court by the Obama Justice Department, which is arguing that the state can do nothing to help in the enforcement of federal laws against illegal immigration.

They’re trying to tell Arizona: It’s a federal matter, so butt out!

Of course, since the Obama gang is gutting existing federal immigration programs, refusing to deport illegal aliens, pushing back-door “stealth amnesty” measures, and currying favor in advance of 2012 with its radical open-borders allies, what they’re really telling Arizona is “drop dead”!

But the Obama gang is up against Judicial Watch and 240,000 plus supporters now…and we are committed to helping Arizona and other states do everything they can under the Constitution to protect their citizens and help enforce laws against illegal immigration.