The Arizona Latino Republican Association (ALRA) has decided to become the first Hispanic organization in the country to actively oppose the Obama administration’s lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration law.
The ALRA will make the announcement Thursday, Larry Klayman, founder of Freedom Watch, told Foxnews.com. He will appear at the event along with ALRA Chairman Jesse Hernandez and members of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association.
That will make ALRA the first Hispanic group to "put a foot forward legally" in support of the new law by filing a motion to intervene against the Justice Department's lawsuit challenging it, Klayman said.
So the ALRA becomes "in effect, a defendant" in the DOJ lawsuit, which names the state of Arizona and Republican Gov. Jan Brewer as defendants, he says.
As for the motion, "We're still working on it," Klayman said. He expects it to be filed before a court hearing scheduled for Thursday on the DOJ lawsuit.
"This is a way to tell the country that, 'Hey, we're Americans too and we believe in the rule of law," Klayman said.
"It's a way to say, 'We got here legally, and we contributed a great deal. We want the rest of the country to recognize that we're with you [in the national immigration debate].’"
The Justice Department claims the federal government has "preeminent authority" on immigration enforcement and that the Arizona law violates that authority.
In court documents filed Tuesday, lawyers for Brewer wrote, "Arizona merely seeks to assist with the enforcement of existing federal immigration laws in a constitutional manner. It is (the Obama administration) that is attempting to impose immigration policies and priorities that contravene and conflict with federal law and unambiguous congressional intent."