Obama takes side of illegals against Arizona and American voters

Byron York:

When President Obama discussed the new Arizona immigration law with Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the White House Wednesday, he was doing something he has never done with the governor of Arizona. Although Obama has repeatedly criticized the law, he has not once talked about it with Gov. Jan Brewer, nor is any such discussion in the works.

If they did talk, Brewer might ask Obama why he took a foreign leader's side against a U.S. state on the issue of illegal immigration. In a Rose Garden appearance, Calderon called the Arizona law "discriminatory" and said it will lead to immigrants being "treated as criminals." Obama echoed Calderon's remarks, saying the Arizona law "has the potential of being applied in a discriminatory fashion" and creates the "possibility" that immigrants will be "harassed or arrested."

The scene left some in Arizona, and all around the country, slack-jawed. "It is unfortunate and disappointing," says Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, "that the president of Mexico chose to criticize the state of Arizona by weighing in on a U.S. domestic policy issue during a trip that was meant to reaffirm the unique relationship between our two countries." Far more distressing to some was the fact that Obama took Calderon's side.

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Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder continues work on plans to sue Arizona over the law. But if Holder goes ahead, he'll have to get in line. A total of five such lawsuits have already been filed in federal court.

There's one from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund. There's one from the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders. There are two filed by police officers in Arizona, and one filed by a man who lives in Washington, D.C., but says he plans to visit Arizona in the fall and fears he will be discriminated against, even though he is an American citizen.

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As it turns out, Arizona might be fighting Washington not only in court but also inside the federal bureaucracy. This week John Morton, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told the Chicago Tribune his bureau might refuse to act in the cases of illegal immigrants found under the Arizona law because the statute is not "good government."

The bottom line is that Obama, the Justice Department, and the entire executive branch are on Mexico's side in this dispute. On the other hand, the majority of the American people are with Arizona; a recent Wall Street Journal poll found that 64 percent of Americans support the law.

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There is going to be a voter backlash against Democrats and Obama on this issue and it will be heard this November at the election. Candidates outside Arizona need to start using this against Obama and the Democrats and hammering them with it early and often, because voters are going to get angrier with this administration the more they hear about this betrayal of American voters and the rule of law.

Update: RE, the comment below. Opposition to illegal immigration does not suggest that voters do not like Mexicans. What voters want is compliance with immigration laws. Since Mexico's immigration laws are much tougher does that mean Mexicans don't like Americans? It is a false choice argument.