Jan Brewer ‘confident’ Supreme Court will uphold immigration law

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said Monday that she welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments about the state’s controversial illegal immigration law.

“I am confident the high court will uphold Arizona’s constitutional authority and obligation to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens,” she said in a statement.

“This case is not just about Arizona. It’s about every state grappling with the costs of illegal immigration. And it’s about the fundamental principle of federalism, under which these states have a right to defend their people.”

The high court’s decision to hear the case was a setback to the Obama administration, which had urged the court to steer clear of the dispute.

Arguments would likely be heard next spring. Its ruling is likely to determine the fate of similar immigration laws adopted in the past year by Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah.

“Decades of federal inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation, and states deserve clarity from the Court in terms of what role they have in fighting illegal immigration,” Brewer said.

White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters this morning that the Obama administration “look[s] forward to arguing our point of view in that case.”