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Supreme Court may uphold parts of Arizona's immigration law

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
April 26th, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

In a surprise move, the Supreme Court seems prepared to uphold part of Arizona's controversial immigration law. This would allow some of the measures currently blocked by lower courts to be enforced. Furthermore, the justices strongly suggested they're not buying the Obama administration's argument that Arizona exceeded its authority. The Obama administration argues that immigration policy is rightfully set by the federal government, not states.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Even some of the court's more liberal justices seem to find no strong objection to the most controversial part of the law, which requires local police to check on the immigration status of anyone they detain or arrest.

However, Arizona appeared to have a tougher time defending two other provisions of the law that are now blocked. Making it a state crime to have no federal immigration papers, in addition to making it a state crime for an illegal immigrant to look for work, as neither is currently a federal crime.

Arizona contends that immigration is not exclusively a federal matter and the state has the right to act because federal authorities have not done their job. Key parts of the law have been put on hold by lower courts pending action by the Supreme Court.

Signed into law by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in April 2010, the law has inspired similar laws in other states.

The case has become 2012 campaign fodder for both the Obama administration and Republicans. The issue also has the potential to split the Republicans.

Latino Republican, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is a potential running mate for Mitt Romney said last week that he did not "believe that laws like Arizona's should be a model for the country." Rubio added he understood why Arizona had passed the law.

But, crucially, he added, "I would much rather the federal government deal with the illegal immigration issue and modernize our legal immigration system ."

Those remarks put him at odds with Romney, who in February called the Arizona's immigration law "a model." Romney also has said he hoped the law "will be implemented with care and caution not to single out individuals based upon their ethnicity."

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Article brought to you by: Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)