ImmigrationSupreme Court deals near-fatal blow to Arizona SB 1070; states’ immigration efforts now in question
In a major victory for the Obama administration, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday struck down three of the four main provisions in Arizona’s tough SB 1070 immigration law, saying these provisions were pre-empted by federal law; the Court left in place the fourth provision – the one requiring Arizona local law enforcement during routine stops to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect is in the country illegally – but in reading the provision very narrowly, the Court left its implementation open to legal challenges on grounds that it violates racial profiling prohibition and other laws; in any event, the administration moved quickly to make that remaining provision meaningless by pulling back on a program known as 287(g), which allows the federal government to deputize local officials to make immigration-based arrests; the move means that even if local police step up immigration checks, they will have to rely on federal officials to make the arrests
Awaiting the Court's Arizona decision // Source: scpr.org
In a victory to the Obama administration, and a near-fatal blow to attempts by states to introduce tough laws to deal with enforcement of immigration laws, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the authority to enforce immigration laws rests squarely with the federal government, saying that states have but a very limited role to play in crafting state-level answers to immigration enforcement.
The Obama administration challenged four provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070, and by a 5-3 margin, the Court struck down three of these four provisions, agreeing with the administration that they were pre-empted under federal law. The Court agreed that Arizona’s attempt to deal with illegal immigration by creating new laws and new penalties to punish undocumented immigrants was pre-empted by federal law, but it found that a provision requiring local police to investigate the legal status of suspected undocumented immigrants was not pre-empted on its face.
The court read this provision very narrowly, however, leaving open the door to future lawsuits challenging the implementation of this provision based on racial profiling and other legal violations.
The remaining plank in the Arizona law is now moot, in any event, because following its victory in the Supreme Court, the Obama administration quickly moved to undermine this provision and make it largely meaningless.
Fox News reports that by Monday afternoon, DHS had pulled back on a program known as 287(g), which allows the feds to deputize local officials to make immigration-based arrests. According to a DHS official, the administration has determined those agreements are “not useful” now in states that have Arizona-style laws. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has since rescinded that agreement in Arizona — with the state itself, and with three local law enforcement agencies.
The move means that even if local police step up immigration checks, they will have to rely on federal officials to make the arrests.
Fox News also reports that federal officials made it clear that ICE would be very selective in responding to the expected increase in calls from Arizona official and other police agencies about immigration status. Officials said ICE will not respond to the scene unless the person in question meets certain criteria set by the administration — such as being wanted for a felony.
Supporters of Arizona-like laws and, more generally, efforts by states to take enforcement of immigration laws into their own hands, admitted defeat, saying that the future of state-led efforts to tackle illegal
