First it was Arizona, then Alabama and now South Carolina.

On the plus side, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has vowed to fight the lawsuit.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department filed suit Monday against South Carolina over a recently-passed state law seeking to step up local law enforcement action against illegal immigrants.

The law, set to take effect Jan. 1, requires local law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of everyone they detain. Proponents say the measure will reduce crime and other problems caused by illegal immigrants, but critics have warned that U.S. citizens and immigrants who are in the country legally could be kept in custody by police carrying out the new law.

The lawsuit — the third the Justice Department has filed against new measures states have enacted to crack down on illegal aliens — argues that the law usurps the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration laws.

A spokesman for Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.), who signed the measure into law in June, said she would resist the federal government’s effort to block the new law.

“As the daughter of immigrants who came to this country legally, Gov. Haley understands that no American value is more sacred than the rule of law. That’s what this is about — nothing more, nothing less,” Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said in a statement. “If the feds were doing their job, we wouldn’t have had to address illegal immigration reform at the state level. But, until they do, we’re going to keep fighting in South Carolina to be able to enforce our laws.”