Today, the Supreme Court issued its ruling on the constitutionality of Arizona’s far-reaching Immigration Law. As this article states, the Court’s ruling had several effects:
- The provisions that were struck down include…
1) Authorizing police to arrest illegal immigrants without warrant where “probable cause” exists that they committed any public offense making them removable from the country.
2) Making it a state crime for “unauthorized immigrants” to fail to carry registration papers and other government identification.
3) Forbidding those not authorized for employment in the United States to apply, solicit or perform work. That would include illegal immigrants standing in a parking lot who “gesture or nod” their willingness to be employed.
- However, one of the most controversial provisions of the law–the provision allowing police to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws (the so-called “show me your papers” provision)–was upheld by the Court. The decision to allow police to check a person’s immigration papers when they have “reasonable suspicion” that a person is not in the U.S. legally was certainly controversial. The Obama administration and many other have already said that allowing this provision violates basic human rights.
- Many Republicans are extremely upset about this decision, as it seems to broadly limit the individual rights of state police forces. They argue that these “police powers” have always been the sovereign domain of the states, and that this decision severely limits the constitutional boundaries between the federal and the state government
As we saw from our 4 part series last week on Immigration Reform, this issue is at the forefront of the national debate, and will continue to be a hot-button issue the rest of this year. With the President’s new Executive Order, plus this ruling by the Supreme Court, issues surrounding illegal immigration have become a major part of the debate surrounding this election year.
At Cook & Gore, our Immigration Attorneys will be watching these decisions closely. If you have any questions about Immigration Law or how you or someone you know can apply for immigration benefits, please give us a call at 214-886-7633.