Supreme Court rules on Arizona's controversial immigration law
Monday, June 25, 2012
Filed Under:
Law
|
National
|
Politics
More on: 9th circuit, arizona, immigration, itca, sb1070, supreme court, tohono oodham
The
U.S. Supreme Court
today issued its decision on
SB1070, Arizona's controversial immigration law.
The court ruled that most provisions of the law are pre-empted by federal law. That means the state can't take certain immigration matters into its own hands.
However, the court did not strike down the provision that allows state police officers to ask about a person's immigration status during traffic stops.
But challenges could be made down the line, the decision acknowledged.
The
Tohono O'odham Nation and the
Inter Tribal Council of Arizona oppose SB1070 and participated in the litigation.
Tribes say the law will lead to civil rights violations against individual Indians who may not have U.S. citizenship documents even though they were born in the U.S.
Today's decision leaves the door open for tribes to pursue those challenges should they arise in the future. The court effectively said it was too early to pre-empt the provision requiring officers to check a person's immigration status.
Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the most conservative members of the court, authored a dissent that staed he would uphold all of the provisions of SB1070. In a footnote, he cited a 2002 article from the Texas Law Review with an interesting title: "Powers Inherent in Sovereignty: Indians, Aliens, Territories, and the Nineteenth Century Origins of Plenary Power over Foreign Affairs.
Justice Elena
Kagan, who served as
Solicitor General in the
months before the
Department of
Justice filed a
lawsuit
against Arizona, took no part in consideration of the case.
Supreme Court Decision:
Arizona v. US (June 25, 2012)
Related Stories:
Supreme Court to hear
dispute over Arizona immigrant law (12/12)
Editorial: Anti-immigrant
law proves to be 'costly failure' (04/25)
Cherokee Nation joins tribes in opposing Arizona
immigrant law (8/18)
Judge blocks major
provisions of Arizona's anti-immigration law (7/29)
Arizona governor redirects some stimulus money to
border tribes (07/20)
Tohono O'odham
Nation submits brief in immigration law dispute (7/15)
Obama administration sues to block Arizona
anti-immigrant law (7/7)
Rodriguez:
Anti-immigration law spurred by manifest insanity (6/21)
Arizona governor wants tribal cooperation on
immigrant law (6/15)
Rihanna
moves concert to venue at Pascua Yaqui Tribe casino (6/9)
Boycott of Arizona not affecting Pascua
Yaqui casino venue (6/8)
Rodriguez:
Arizona is speeding towards an apartheid state (05/31)
Tohono O'odham Nation opposes state
anti-immigration law (5/21)
Muscogee
Nation weighs stance on Arizona immigration law (5/13)
Editorial: Taking a stance against state's
immigration law (5/7)
Arizona tribes
worried about state's anti-immigration law (5/3)
Copyright © Indianz.Com
Subscribe