JW Sues DOJ to Obtain All Communications with ACLU Regarding Obama Administration Lawsuit Challenging Arizona’s SB 1070

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today announced that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) for information regarding the DOJ’s decision to file a lawsuit against Arizona over the state’s tough new illegal immigration law, SB 1070. Judicial Watch seeks documents pertaining to the Obama administration’s contacts with third party organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in making the decision to file the lawsuit.

Judicial Watch specifically seeks the following documents through its FOIA request originally filed on June 17, 2010:

Any and all communications between the Department of Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), concerning, regarding, or relating to Arizona’s “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” also referred to as “Arizona SB 1070.”

Judicial Watch also seeks “any and all communications between the Department of Justice and any third parties,” related to the SB 1070 lawsuit.

On May 17, 2010, a coalition of “civil rights groups,” including the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit against the State of Arizona over SB 1070. According to the ACLU’s press release announcing the lawsuit, this coalition included: “…the ACLU, MALDEF, National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), ACLU of Arizona, National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) – a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice.”

“The American people ought to know if the Obama Justice Department is being run by radical leftist organizations such as the ACLU. I suspect that the Obama Justice Department is making decisions on behalf of its leftist allies, instead of in the public interest,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “This is a simple request for information. The Obama administration should stop stonewalling and release these basic documents on its decision to attack Arizona over its get-tough illegal immigration law.”

Judicial Watch represents Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce, author of SB 1070, in the Obama administration’s lawsuit challenging the Arizona law.