The court said state and local police can continue to ask the legal status of those they suspect of being in the country illegally and can report them to federal officials, but struck down the state’s efforts to impose its own penalties against illegal immigrants.So, the most personally obnoxious part of the law stands and the parts that might infringe on Federal powers falls.
Of four major provisions, the court struck down three of them — the ones that created state penalties for illegal immigrants who tried to find jobs and legal immigrants who fail to carry their papers, and that allowed police to arrest those they believed were deportable.
This again points out the need for the US Congress to act to change (increase) quotas or to pay for border security. Otherwise we risk falling into being a nation ruled by Presidential decrees.
It also points out that the Supreme Court is not locked in a 5-4 political deadlock.
Hat tip to the Instapundit.
Regards — Cliff
I have not read the ruling or much byond your post on the ruling so I am basing my question solely on that information.
ReplyDeleteIf the SCOTUS struck down the provision of the law requiring LEGAL immigrants to carry papers (which smacks of NAZI Germany to me) but let stand the provision that police can stop, detain and question an ILLEGAL immigrant, how does that change the law? The police will continue to detain and question all immigrants and when a LEGAL immigrant falls into the trap just say OPPS, made a mistake on that one!
Not just Nazi Germany. When we were in (West) Germany in the late 1960s your still had to hand in your passports to the Hotel Keeper when you registered for a stay, and then the Hotel Keeper would take them down to the Police Station. I don't recall this being the rule later on in the century.
ReplyDeleteI think it doesn't really change the law, but I think that someone will find an opportunity to take Arizona to court over in and try to kill the last leg of the law. Part of this is going to be how the police handle it, IMHO. If the police are jerks they will find a lawsuit being rolled out pretty quickly. If they aren't, it might take a while. The people bringing the lawsuit will need outrage to help them.
But, again, this is not so much a Jan Brewer problem as it is a Niki Tsongas and a John Kerry problem (and Scott Brown). Congress refuses to act and then allows the problems to fall to the individual states. That is irresponsible.
Regards — Cliff
I would argue that the SCOTUS decision is the correct one....and one quite beneficial to AZ. It is most importantly a smack down of Obama's overreach of executive "privilege" in dictating who gets to do what to whom.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I call this one a win for a balance of power in the Federal government.
Now....we'll see what the Congress does with it....I predict....NOTHING...just like the failure of the Senate to pass a budget for.....oh geez.....those are really big numbers....