The United States Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it had filed a law suit against the state of Arizona and her Governor Jan Brewer, for approving the SB 1070 immigration law last April.

The announcement was made by the US Attorney General Eric Holder, and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and former Arizona Gov., Janet Napolitano.

Holder said he understood that “Arizonans are understandably frustrated with illegal immigration, but diverting federal resources away from dangerous aliens such as terrorism suspects and aliens with criminal records will impact the entire country's safety".

 The claim states in the introduction that “the United States seeks to declare invalid and preliminarily and permanently enjoin the enforcement of SB 1070, as amended and enacted by the State of Arizona, because SB 1070 is preempted by federal law and therefore violates the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.

Napolitano also recalled in the statement that when she was Arizona’s Governor, she vetoed similar proposals because she felt that it "diverted critical resources from the real threats to public safety."

The law passed in Arizona, empowers the police to ask anyone suspicious of entering the United States illegally, about their immigration status in the country. Many immigrant rights groups have described the law as "racist" because it promotes racial distinction.

Republicans reject the action

The reactions were swift, the two Arizona senators and Republican Party members, John McCain and Jon Kyl held a joint press conference against the legal action.

"The American people must wonder whether the Obama administration is really committed to securing the border when it sues a state that is simply trying to protect its people by enforcing immigration law," Sens. Kyl and McCain said in a statement.

"The Obama administration has not done everything it can do to protect the people of Arizona from the violence and crime illegal immigration brings to our state. Until it does, the federal government should not be suing Arizona on the grounds that immigration enforcement is solely a federal responsibility." The Republican Senators concluded

Adding pressure to the federal government’s challenge, more than 20 republican House of Representatives sent a letter to Attorney General Holder, arguing that the challenge imposed on Tuesday "reflected a high degree of irresponsibility and arrogance."

The federal government

On June 8, the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said in Ecuadorian local television news broadcast that the administration of President Barack Obama, would initiate a lawsuit against Governor Jan Brewer for approving the SB 1070 law, for considering the measure "unconstitutional".

Many opposition leaders have said that the law suit is a political move in order to increase the popular acceptance of the Democratic Party in the Hispanic population before the December legislative elections.

According to polls recently released by various media, the administration of President Obama has suffered a loss of popularity among the Hispanic population in the United States.

Analysts say the legal process was necessary to attract Latino votes before the legislative elections in December, if Obama wants to keep implementing the proposals on agenda.

On 1 July, the U.S. president announced that he was in favor of an immigration reform that would benefit 11 million undocumented people in the country.

I’m ready to move forward; the majority of Democrats are ready to move forward; and I believe the majority of Americans are ready to move forward” Obama said in his speech in reference to an immigration reform.

But the fact is, without bipartisan support, as we had just a few years ago, we cannot solve this problem”, he added.