State - Cox files brief to support Arizona immigration law, sends letter to AGs Gubernatorial candidate also challenged constitutionality of federal health care law

By Kathy Barks Hoffman Associated Press Writer LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox filed a legal brief supporting Arizona's immigration law and sent a letter this week asking other state attorneys general to join him. Cox, one of five Republicans running for Michigan governor, said in the letter that the U.S. Justice Department's legal challenge to the Arizona law "seeks to remove the power of the states" to enforce their own immigration statutes along with federal immigration laws. He also argues that under the federal government's approach, "there is no cooperative effort on immigration but only a one-way street where states lose control over their borders and are left to guess at the reality of the law." The Arizona law, set to take effect July 29, would require state and local police to question and possibly arrest illegal immigrants during the enforcement of other laws such as traffic stops. The Obama administration recently filed suit in federal court to block it, arguing that immigration is a federal issue. The law's backers say Congress isn't doing anything meaningful about illegal immigration, so it's the state's duty to step up. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, another GOP gubernatorial candidate in Michigan, wants the Justice Department to withdraw its suit. He said Monday that Michigan needs a law similar to Arizona's because it shares a long international border with Canada and faces potential threats. "The Obama administration continues to threaten to sue Arizona when they should be securing our borders. If the federal government was doing their job we wouldn't be having this argument," Bouchard said in a statement. It's not the first time the Republican attorney general has clashed with the Obama administration. Earlier this year, Cox joined with more than a dozen other attorneys general to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of federal health care changes signed into law by the Democratic president. The health care issue has put him at odds with Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who supports the federal changes. Granholm press secretary Liz Boyd learned of Cox's letter from The Associated Press Monday evening and didn't have an immediate answer on what the governor thought of Cox's decision to file a legal brief in the Arizona case. Boyd was seeking an answer on whether the governor supports or opposes Arizona's immigration law. Published: Wed, Jul 14, 2010

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