Yesterday the state of Arizona filed its brief defending SB 1070. These are the first three lines:
To combat what the district court described as “rampant illegal immigration, escalating drug and human trafficking crimes, and serious public safety concerns,” the Arizona Legislature enacted the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” as amended (“S.B. 1070” or the “Act”).1 The harm that Arizona and its citizens are suffering as a result of illegal immigration is well documented and undisputed. The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has demonstrated its inability (or unwillingness) to enforce the federal immigration laws effectively.
So crime, along with illegal immigration is down "dramatically" in Arizona, deportations are up, the DHS has deployed its strict "Secure Communities" program along the entire Southwest border, where crime has remained essentially flat for the last decade, probably because immigrants are less likely to commit crimes.
But yeah, other than the facts, Arizona's position is "undisputed." The constitutional merits are no more on Arizona's side than the facts themselves; their only hope is conservative judicial activism.
