Tani Coyote
Son of Huehuecoyotl
- Joined
- May 28, 2007
- Messages
- 15,191
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10530861.stm
...Going around SCOTUS for this, I see.
This will be an interesting event... Arizona claims the government doesn't enforce its job so they must do it for them, and then the feds just retaliate by saying it's not their place to actually enforce federal laws...
Or that's the simplified version I hear a lot of, anyway.
Law probably could be better, but so long as it applies to anybody who was already doing something illegal, I don't have much of a problem with it; it's not like dragging a person off the street randomly and asking for papers... criminals do not have the same rights as innocent people.
I agree we need a single, unified standard on this... now, enforce it, and you just might have a point, Mr. O.
The US federal government has filed a legal challenge to a law passed by Arizona to target illegal immigrants.
The law requires police to query the immigration status of people stopped for a legitimate reason who arouse suspicion of being in the US illegally.
The justice department will argue the law is unconstitutional as it usurps federal authority over immigration.
Due to take effect this month, the border state's new law is opposed by Mexico and civil liberties groups.
President Barack Obama has described the Arizona law as "misguided" and the administration's legal challenge was expected.
The Arizona legislature says it was forced to act because the federal government failed to do so.
The state is the biggest entry point into the US for illegal immigrants, and is home to an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the measure into law in April and it is due to go into effect on 29 July.
But the justice department, which filed its case in a federal court in Arizona, has asked for its implementation to be delayed until the case is resolved.
"In our constitutional system, the federal government has pre-eminent authority to regulate immigration matters," the legal challenge says.
"The nation's immigration laws reflect a careful and considered balance of national law enforcement, foreign relations, and humanitarian interests."
A spokeswoman for Ms Brewer described the administration's move as a "terribly bad decision", saying the state had a "terrible border security crisis that needs to be addressed".
Arizona's Republican Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain also criticised the decision to sue their state.
"The Obama administration has not done everything it can do to protect the people of Arizona from the violence and crime illegal immigration brings to our state," they said in a joint statement.
The law was passed after years of frustration in the state over problems associated with illegal immigration, including drug-trafficking and violent kidnappings.
In a speech on immigration reform last week, Mr Obama warned of the possibility of other states following Arizona's lead.
"As other states and localities go their own ways, we face the prospect that different rules for immigration will apply in different parts of the country," he said.
"A patchwork of local immigration rules where we all know one clear national standard is needed."
The Arizona law makes it a state crime for legal immigrants not to carry their immigration documents and bans day labourers and people who seek their services from blocking traffic on streets.
It also prohibits government agencies from having policies that restrict the enforcement of federal immigration law and lets Arizonans file lawsuits against agencies that hinder immigration enforcement.
...Going around SCOTUS for this, I see.
This will be an interesting event... Arizona claims the government doesn't enforce its job so they must do it for them, and then the feds just retaliate by saying it's not their place to actually enforce federal laws...
Or that's the simplified version I hear a lot of, anyway.
Law probably could be better, but so long as it applies to anybody who was already doing something illegal, I don't have much of a problem with it; it's not like dragging a person off the street randomly and asking for papers... criminals do not have the same rights as innocent people.
I agree we need a single, unified standard on this... now, enforce it, and you just might have a point, Mr. O.