State Legislators for Legal Immigration Founder Signs Amicus Brief Supporting States’ Rights
HARRISBURG—
Pennsylvania State Representative and State Legislators for Legal Immigration (SLLI) Founder, Daryl Metcalfe, announced today the filing of an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the controversial Ninth Circuit Court ruling in favor of the Obama administration’s Department of Justice federal lawsuit that struck down several key provisions of Arizona’s illegal alien apprehension and deportation law (Senate Bill 1070).
“‘We must all stand together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately,’” said Metcalfe. “These words spoken by Pennsylvania’s Benjamin Franklin to rally America’s 13 original colonies to come together in the battle for independence, could not be more appropriate to underscore the importance of state lawmakers standing together to defend each and every state’s right to protect the lives, liberty, property and jobs of their citizens from the illegal alien invasion.”
This amicus brief was filed in support of the pending writ of certiorari filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by the state of Arizona and Governor Jan Brewer. In addition to Metcalfe, the brief was signed by the following SLLI members: Representative Charles Key (Oklahoma), Representative Matt Shea (Washington) and Delegate Don Dwyer (Maryland).
“On behalf of the Sovereign Citizens of the State of Maryland, I have signed on to the amicus brief in the case of Arizona versus the United States,” said Dwyer. “As the voice of those who elected us, we have a responsibility to protect and defend the individual sovereignty of the individual states we represent. For this reason, I stand in defense of the State of Arizona.”
The amicus brief highlights the importance of maintaining a balance of power between the federal and state governments, including:
• Reiterating the principles of federalism and the concept that states created the federal government and not vice versa;
• Stating the failure of the federal government to uphold Article 4, Section 4 of the United States Constitution which affirms that “the United States shall guarantee to every state in the Union a Republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion”; and
• Highlighting the concept of state citizenship as defined in the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which describes a United States citizenship as a “person born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Formed to demand full cooperation among federal, state and local governments to eliminate all economic attractions and incentives that continue to lure illegal aliens across America’s unsecured borders, lawmakers from
41 state legislatures, or more than
80 percent of the nation, have now signed on as members of
SLLI. To view the amicus brief in its entirety,
click here.