U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Key Part of SB 1070

“This morning the United States Supreme Court announced that justices have ruled unanimously in favor of the central part of Arizona’s SB 1070. This ruling upheld what Arizonans have known all along; Arizona is not precluded from taking action herself to help secure our southern border.

Our state has grown frustrated by the lack of security at our border with Mexico and inaction by the federal government. SB 1070 grew out of that frustration. It was a common sense bill that I supported, along with nearly every member of our Caucus.

It only gave local and state law enforcement the power to enforce existing law. Illegal immigration is an issue that directly affects Arizona’s economy, overburdens our corrections system, strains local budgets and leads to increased costs on our citizens for vital services such as health care and education.

Perhaps now we can deal with the issue as a sovereign state, just as we should be able to with the mismanagement of our forests. Natural resources are going up in smoke due to even more of the Feds inability to do what is right.

It is an election year, but I hold out hope that the Obama Administration can finally move past the rhetoric and work toward a solution to this and other very important problems that impact not only Arizona, but the nation as well. While we need the Border Patrol agents to improve security, we also need more U.S. Customs and Border Security agents to get commerce moving immediately.

Today’s decision is a clear sign that the days of inaction and excuses are over.”