The case is Arizona v. United States and the issue is “whether federal immigration laws preclude Arizona’s efforts at cooperative law enforcement and impliedly preempt four provisions of S.B. 1070 on their face.”
The decision is a setback for the Obama Administration, as their lawyers had urged the court to steer clear of the dispute, but the Court agreed to hear Arizona's case for a law that targets illegal immigrants and empowers local police.
The Justice Department has challenged different state efforts to address illegal immigration, arguing that the federal government has exclusive authority to enforce the nation’s immigration laws.
Arizona’s law has been imitated in other states like South Carolina, Georgia, Utah and, more recently, Alabama. A report from AFP cited by Univision, says that Alabama’s law goes to the extreme of denying water and electricity access to people that can’t prove to be legally in the state.
According to the Washington Post the review by the Supreme Court “will be heard around the same time as justices consider the constitutionality of President Obama’s health-care overhaul.” Two cases deeply charged with political implications in a year of elections.
The sentence is expected before June 2012.
Related notes:
- Arizona Governor Signs Two New Immigration-Related Laws
- Utah Governor Signs Controversial Immigration Bills
- US Justice Department Filed a Challenge Over Alabama's Immigration Law
