Ariz. Immigration Law’s Legal Costs Could Top $1 Million

Defending the state against lawsuits related to its tough new immigration law has cost more than $440,000 to date, and outstanding bills could easily add up to an excess of $1 million or more.

The bills so far cover work and charges incurred only through the end of June, which doesn’t include any costs related to a U.S. Department of Justice suit filed in July.

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Money to pay for the state’s legal costs is coming from Brewer’s legal defense fund. So far she has authorized two expenditures: one for just over $77,000 to cover bills received for work in the last 11 days of May, and the second for $363,520.25 to cover the June legal charges.

The fund has received more than $3.6 million in donations to date, from 41,478 donors all across the country. A single donation in the amount of $1.5 million was received in the last two weeks from Timothy Mellon of Laramie, Wyo., Brewer’s office said.

Public records show that Mellon is heir to a family banking fortune and is the chairman of Pan Am Systems, a privately-owned shipping and freight company based out of New Hampshire.

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