ACLJ Urges Appeals Court to Uphold Alabama Immigration Law

"…the Alabama measure impedes no federal law and is actually consistent with federal immigration policy…" said Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsel.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2012—An Obama administration challenge to Alabama's immigration law will effectively render U.S. states powerless over unchecked illegal immigration. The nation's top conservative public interest law firm shared that warning this week in documents filed with a U.S. Appeals court. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) backs the Alabama immigration measure on the grounds that it mirrors federal immigration provisions and is asking the court to uphold the statute.

"This is fast becoming one of the most important issues for the American people," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "This latest case underscores the growing clash between the federal government and the rights of states. The fact is, many states are doing what Alabama and Arizona already have done - enacting laws that promote Congressional immigration policy by enforcing the very laws that the Obama Administration fails to enforce."

The ACLJ's amicus brief, filed yesterday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, argues that the Obama administration's attack on Alabama's HB 56 "undermines federalist and separation of power principles" by unjustly targeting states who take action to enforce immigration laws that have a profound effect on their citizenry.

"We contend the Alabama measure impedes no federal law and is actually consistent with federal immigration policy that promotes increasingly greater roles for states in enforcing immigration law," said Sekulow.

The Alabama appeal comes as the Supreme Court has decided to hear a challenge to Arizona's immigration measure, SB 1070. The ACLJ represents 59 members of Congress and nearly 60,000 Americans in the Arizona decision and filed an amicus brief on their behalf at the high court in December to urge a hearing on Arizona's measure. With oral arguments in the Arizona case now expected this spring, the ACLJ is preparing an additional amicus brief in support of the law to be filed with the Supreme Court.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington.

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