30 lawmakers to file amicus brief in defense of AZ SB 1070

The first half of this Politico article is dedicated to the Federal Government and others like Grijalva (D-AZ), who is calling for a boycott of his own state, and Gutierrez (D-Ill), who is just another cog in the Chicago politcal machine.  These are open borders advocates and members of La Raza who are against AZ SB 1070, of course.  But scroll down to the bottom of the article and find that 30 lawmakers have signed onto an amicus brief to be filed ins upport of AZ SB 1070.

After the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in May to reverse the Arizona law, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) this week drafted 17 House colleagues to become party to a friend of the court brief backing the state.

Most of the GOP’s participation and focus, however, has centered on the Justice Department suit.

This week, two border state congressmen, Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) and Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), have been collecting signatures from the nearly 100 members of the Immigration Reform Caucus for an amicus brief that will be filed in support of Arizona on Monday. By Thursday, about 30 lawmakers had signed on.

“Arizona has not created a counter policy. It is completely parallel and consistent with federal law,” said Bilbray, the caucus chairman who represents a San Diego-area district. “All [Arizona has] done is taken the federal law, moderated it, actually put more protection against (racial) profiling.”

DeMint and Vitter, meanwhile, are using the congressional amendment process to try to undermine the Justice Department. The two introduced an appropriations amendment to a small business bill that would ban federal funds from being used in any lawsuit seeking to overturn provisions of Arizona’s strict immigration law. The bill is set to be debated on the floor next week.

Vitter declined to comment Thursday but noted in a statement that polls show a majority of Americans reject the Justice Department suit.

“The state of Arizona is simply taking responsibility for a problem that the federal government has neglected for years, but Washington’s only response is to oppose these new enforcement efforts and take them to court,” Vitter said. “The Obama administration should not use taxpayers’ money to pay for these lawsuits that the American people overwhelmingly oppose.”