Mexico Joins Fight Against Arizona Immigration Law

(June 23) -- The Mexican government has thrust itself into the legal battle against Arizona's controversial immigration law, joining U.S. advocacy groups in federal court to argue that the measure is unconstitutional and violates the basic rights of Mexican citizens.

Lawyers for Mexico filed a brief supporting a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, the National Immigration Law Center and others against the Arizona law, which allows law enforcement to verify someone's residency status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that the person is an illegal immigrant.

"Mexico has a duty to protect its citizens and ensure that ethnicity is not used as criteria for discriminatory acts," the court document states. Mexico argues that the Arizona law threatens "the human and civil rights of its citizens when they are present in Arizona."

The Tucson Police Department is currently gearing up to begin training its officers on the implementation of the controversial new immigration law SB 1070.

Scott Olson, Getty Images

The Mexican government has joined U.S. advocacy groups in filing a suit in federal court arguing that Arizona's immigration law, SB 1070, is unconstitutional and violates the basic rights of Mexican citizens. Here, Tucson Police Officer Ysela Welding looks at injuries on the face of a juvenile victim of an assault on May 29.

Unless a federal judge issues an injunction, the law will take effect July 29.

The Arizona law has been a source of controversy in the United States, but it is broadly unpopular in Mexico, where it is seen as flatly discriminatory and even racist.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has been vocal about his opposition to the legislation, which he says "opens the door to intolerance, hate, discrimination and abuse in law enforcement." He has also warned that the measure could strain relations between Mexico and the United States.

In the mainstream Mexican press, the Arizona law is routinely and uncontroversially referred to as a measure "that criminalizes immigrants because of their race."

A majority of Arizonans, however, support the law, and Mexico's court brief elicited a rapid-fire response Tuesday from Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who said she was "very disappointed."

In a statement, Brewer said the brief contained "false assertions and factual inaccuracies" and said the United States has a right to defend itself. "We refuse to accept that the United States government is unable to protect its citizens against a relentless and daily barrage of narco-terrorist drug and human smugglers," she said.

President Barack Obama, however, has called the Arizona law "misguided," and his administration has sent signals that it may challenge the legislation in federal court. Although the administration says it is still reviewing the law, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an Ecuadorian TV station last week that the Justice Department "will be bringing a lawsuit" against the immigration measure.