【英语国际】美国联邦政府阻挠州政府推出新移民法

The Obama administration set up a legal battle over states' rights and heightened the political stakes on immigration for both parties by filing a suit to block Arizona's tough new immigration law.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the Justice Department, has the potential to roil the fall elections in several competitive states and could put Democratic candidates on the spot, given the support that voters have shown for the law in opinion surveys. At the same time, there is some evidence that Hispanic voters have turned away from some Republican candidates in the weeks since it was signed by Arizona's Republican governor.

The law, which is set to take effect later this month, makes illegal immigration a state crime and requires police to verify the immigration status of people stopped for other alleged crimes. State lawmakers said they were acting because the federal government has failed to protect the state's border with Mexico from encroachment by illegal immigrants.

The Justice Department suit, filed in Phoenix, said that the state had 'crossed a constitutional line' that interferes with the federal authority over immigration. It alleges that the state law would burden federal agencies, diverting resources from such higher priorities as tracking illegal immigrants implicated in terrorism cases, drug smuggling or other crimes.

'Setting immigration policy and enforcing immigration laws is a national responsibility,' Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. 'Seeking to address the issue through a patchwork of state laws will only create more problems than it solves.'

Supporters of the law say it is needed to discourage people from crossing into and remaining in the state illegally. Its passage came after years of frustration with the porous southern border, kidnappings and murder.

The lawsuit comes as President Barack Obama and his party are trying to energize a Democratic base that is far less enthusiastic about voting this November than are core Republican voters. At the same time, Democrats have been stymied in trying to move an overhaul of immigration laws through Congress, which strategists say has depressed enthusiasm among Hispanic voters.

The White House declined to say if Mr. Obama planned to travel to Arizona, though he will be in neighboring Nevada this week. A top White House official, John Brennan, was in Arizona last week discussing border enforcement plans.

奥巴马(Barack Obama)政府对亚里桑那州出台严格的新移民法提起诉讼，以此来阻止该法生效，就州立法权限发起一场法律战，并凸显了两党在移民问题上的政治赌注。

鉴于民意调查显示选民对这项新法给予支持，司法部(Justice Department)周二提起的这起诉讼，有可能使秋季选举在几个竞争激烈的州中受到严重影响，令民主党侯选人陷入尴尬地位。同时，在亚里桑那州共和党籍州长签署这一新法后几周内，有迹象表明，西班牙裔选民已放弃了对某些共和党侯选人的支持。

这项法律定于本月晚些时候生效，规定非法移民入境按该州法律论属于犯罪，并要求警方在因其它犯罪盘查嫌疑人时，须核实嫌疑人是否具有合法身份。州议会议员说，他们制定该法案，是因联邦政府未能保护该州与墨西哥边境免受非法入境者侵入。

司法部在凤凰城提起诉讼，称该州超越了宪法规定的权限，在移民入境事宜上与联邦权力发生冲突。司法部还称，该州这项立法会增加联邦机构的负担，分散联邦机构在调查非法移民涉及恐怖主义案件、毒品走私及其它应优先考虑的案件时的资源。

美国总检察长霍尔德(Eric Holder)发布声明说，移民政策的制定及移民法的实施是一项国家责任。寻求以分散的州立法来解决这一问题，只会增加麻烦而不能解决问题。

这项法律的支持者说，有必要阻止非法入境及在该州非法停留现象的发生。这一法律通过前，该州多年内存在非法跨越南部边境、绑架及谋杀等问题。

司法部提起这项诉讼之时，总统奥巴马及其政党正在尽力增强民主党阵营的活力，该党选民对于11月份进行的选举远不如共和党核心选民那般热情。同时，民主党在促使国会通过移民法改革议案方面一直受阻，据战略家说，这打压了西班牙裔选民的积极性。

奥巴马本周会前往亚里桑那的邻州内华达，但白宫拒绝透露奥巴马是否打算顺路去亚里桑那州。白宫高级官员布瑞南(John Brennan)上周在亚里桑那州讨论边境执法方案。