AG will defend statute in Federal Court, will not appeal preliminary injunction
INDIANAPOLIS – Today, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced that his office will continue to defend Indiana’s new immigration law in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and he will oppose the plaintiffs’ attempt to obtain a permanent injunction. The court had entered a preliminary injunction June 24, temporarily blocking enforcement of two provisions of Senate Enrolled Act 590, the state’s new immigration law. With the appeal-filing deadline approaching this week, Zoeller has decided not to appeal Judge Sarah Evans Barker’s preliminary ruling to the federal appeals court in Chicago – a process called interlocutory appeal.
“Although our office would have adequate resources to appeal the preliminary injunction to the U.S. 7th Circuit, for strategic reasons we will instead push forward in U.S. District Court and vigorously oppose a permanent injunction. Hoosiers’ frustration with the federal government’s inability to enact and enforce immigration policies prompted the Legislature to turn the wheels of state government to respond to this issue — and I remain committed to defending legislative enactments against outside challenges,†Zoeller said.
On February 9, as Senate Bill 590 was being debated by the Legislature, Zoeller joined other civic leaders in signing on to a different proposal, the Indiana Compact, a statement of benchmark principles for reform of immigration policy. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 590 was modified during the session after various concerns were raised, and the Legislature passed it April 29 and the Governor signed it into law May 10. As the lawyer for state government, the Attorney General must defend state laws from all legal challenges, such as that filed by ACLU against two provisions of SEA 590 on May 25. Other provisions of the new law not challenged in the lawsuit took effect July 1. The court has not yet set a hearing date on the permanent injunction motion.
Zoeller spoke of his appeal decision on the immigration legal challenge and his support of the Indiana Compact at a panel discussion today in Washington D.C. Zoeller was invited by the group ImmigrationWorksUSA to participate in a panel on federalism – the system by which state governments and the federal government each check and balance the other’s legal authority. Zoeller discussed the role of federalism, reiterating the points he made in a recent newspaper op-ed piece he authored that was published July 4 and is found at this link:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/guest-commentary/article_64e77272-537d-5e35-8ef9-7827cd9436e5.html
