By The Time I Get To Arizona, Part 10

Eric Holder's crew are finally suing to block Arizona's immigration law over Constitutional grounds.

The Justice Department on Tuesday weighed in on one of the most explosive issues in American politics, filing a lawsuit to overturn a tough new Arizona immigration law that has sharply divided people along partisan, ideological and ethnic lines.

It also asked the federal courts to grant an injunction to stop enforcement of the measure before it takes effect late this month.

Arizona's law requires immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and allows police to question the residency status of people in the course of enforcing another law. It also targets businesses that hire illegal immigrant laborers or knowingly transport them.

Justice Department lawyers argued that the state statute should be declared invalid because it has improperly preempted federal law.

"In our constitutional system, the power to regulate immigration is exclusively vested in the federal government," the brief said. "The immigration framework set forth by Congress and administered by federal agencies reflects a careful and considered balance of national law enforcement, foreign relations, and humanitarian concerns -- concerns that belong to the nation as a whole, not a single state."

In other words, the DoJ is suing over Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, which enumerates the powers of the Congress.  One of those powers is spelled out right there:

"To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization" 

...which kind of completely kills the ability for states to have immigration laws that specifically conflict with federal immigration laws, and the fact that immigration is a federal matter.  Open and shut case, guys.  In which case the next argument is "OK, let's pass a national immigration reform law!"

Which, you know, keeps being blocked by Republicans.  So, why don't Republicans want national immigration laws?  They didn't when they were in power and they are blocking it again now.  Could it be if they get a law, they won't have much to complain about?