Barack Obama and the Democrats in Washington seem intent in having the federal government overstep its bounds. The most egregious example, not too long ago, was when Congress foisted a big-government health care bill on the American people. Across the country, people are tired of it. And now comes an activist federal judge stepping into Arizona’s state affairs and gutting its anti-illegal immigration law.
Here in South Carolina, the Senate is committed to both fighting the overreaching from D.C. and standing up for the rule of law by passing our own illegal immigration bill. Just three years ago the SC General Assembly passed what newspapers called “the toughest immigration law in the nation.” Unfortunately that plan was founded on federal immigration programs that Nancy Pelosi and her liberal regime have consistently threatened. Like failing to secure our borders, the federal government has dropped the ball on promise after promise.
That’s why State Senator Larry Grooms filed an Arizona style immigration plan in the Senate last year and why yesterday, Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell vowed to continue the push for an Arizona model in our state when the legislature returns in January.
On the day the court decision was handed down, McConnell said, “We see today’s decision as only the first step in an important legal struggle. This ruling will not deter me from continuing to work on this issue. I am committed to continuing full steam to have a bill ready for the Senate and for us to pass a stronger Arizona style immigration bill when we return in January.”
State Senator Larry Grooms weighed in on the subject as well: “The number one responsibility of government is to protect its citizens. Because the federal government has failed miserably, the states took action to protect our borders,” Grooms says. “With yesterday’s decision the feds have failed us twice.”
Many of the talking heads are saying that the ruling will place a chill on state efforts to properly enforce immigration policy. As of right now, there are 17 states pursuing legislation in the Arizona mold. One judge’s ruling in violation of states’ rights won’t deter state legislators from making the right move.
“We’re still early in the innings of a major legal contest,” Sen. Larry Martin said in The Washington Post this morning.
The judge’s decision isn’t the end for common sense immigration reform. It’s the beginning. Will you stand with the Senate in its fight against illegal immigration, even if it means taking on the federal government too?
Please click here now and give us your thoughts on how our state legislature should best deal with the illegal immigration problem plaguing our state.