Senators Paul Sanford, Scott Beason Join Amicus Brief Supporting Arizona Lawsuit
09/14/2010

State Senators Paul Sanford (R-Huntsville) and Scott Beason (R-Gardendale) have joined in on an amicus brief supporting Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in her lawsuit against the Obama Administration's legal challenge to the state’s newly-enacted illegal alien apprehension and deportation law.

An amicus brief is a term used when someone who is not directly related to the case under consideration files a document in court about that case. Amicus briefs are generally accepted by judges and become part of the case record.

Senators Sanford and Beason joined 49 other state lawmakers from 23 other state legislatures. The amicus brief was initially filed in the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals headquartered in San Francisco by a nationwide coalition of state lawmakers known as State Legislators for Legal Immigration, founded by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican state representative from Pennsylvania.

"The Obama Administration has inflicted a barrage of power-grabbing maneuvers on the fifty states. From health care, to cap and trade--and now, meddling in state immigration affairs--this President is attempting to usurp the powers of states to make their own decisions," Senator Sanford said today. "I urge my colleagues in state senates all across the country to add their names to this amicus brief," he added.

Senator Scott Beason concurred. "I support the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which provides powers not specifically given to the federal government are reserved to the fifty states. Arizona has a right to pass and enforce its own immigration laws without intervention from the federal government, and that’s why I signed on to this amicus brief," Senator Beason stated.

For more information about State Legislators for Legal Immigration, visit www.StateLegislatorsforLegalImmigration.com. View the brief at: www.sanfordforsenate.com/files/Dkt_42_Amicus Curiae_for_SLLI.pdf.