Obama administration sues South Carolina over immigration law

The Obama administration on Monday filed a lawsuit against a new immigration law of South Carolina, accusing it of interfering with federal government's authority on immigration policy. This was the latest legal fight between the federal government and states like Arizona and Alabama that passed new laws with tough anti-illegal immigration measures. Certain provisions of the South Carolina's law, set to take effect Jan. 1, are "unconstitutional," the Justice Department said in a statement. It "clearly conflicts with the policies and priorities adopted by the federal government and therefore cannot stand," the statement said. The law requires local law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of everyone they detain, a policy that critics said could result in the harassment and detention of legal immigrants. "Today's lawsuit makes clear once again that the Justice Department will not hesitate to challenge a state's immigration law ... if we find that the law interferes with the federal government's enforcement of immigration," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "It is understandable that communities remain frustrated with the broken immigration system, but a patchwork of state laws is not the solution and will only create problems," he added.