Illegal Immigration
Arizona, Illegal Immigration, The Supreme Court, and Common Sense, (or lack thereof).
What a day. In a nutshell, here's what happened. Following the lead of Justice Kennedy, SCOTUS, in a very controversial decision, struck down these three major provisions: 1). Requiring all immigrants to obtain or carry immigration registration papers; 2). Making it a state criminal offense for an illegal immigrant to seek work or hold a job; and 3). Allowing police to arrest suspected illegal immigrants without warrants. The only part of the bill that was not immediately struck down is the ability for police to check the status of an individual when detained for other reasons, and even with that, LEO's may not arrest them.
Essentially, SCOTUS has taken all of the teeth out of this law, reducing Arizona's decision to defend her borders via SB-1070, to a numbed down oral cavity, and serving up a victory for the administration. Only Justices Scalia and Thomas would have allowed all of the challenged provisions to take effect. To her credit, Justice Kagan did not participate due to her work and allegiance to the administration.
In classic double speak for this administration, President Obama responded thusly. "I am pleased that the Supreme Court has struck down key provisions of Arizona's immigration law. What this decision makes unmistakably clear is that Congress must act on comprehensive immigration reform. A patchwork of state laws is not a solution to our broken immigration system — it's part of the problem." The president went on to say, ".....I will work with anyone in Congress who's willing to make progress on comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our economic needs and security needs, and upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. And in the meantime, we will continue to use every federal resource to protect the safety and civil rights of all Americans, and treat all our people with dignity and respect."
Let me interpret that, ".... Congress must act on comprehensive immigration reform," and the other "blah, blah, blah." Immigration reform?! Really?! This is not about immigration reform; this is about amnesty, dream act, or whatever other name he and they give it. What part of ILLEGAL does POTUS not get? My grandparents and those of most of my peers immigrated to this country; the people that this ruling affects broke into our country and plunder it as surely as the thief that breaks into one's home in the middle of the night.
Likely Republican challenger Mitt Romney was quoted as saying, "....I believe that each state has the duty — and the right — to secure our borders and preserve the rule of law, particularly when the federal government has failed to meet its responsibilities." On that point, the Governor and I could not agree more because to my way of thinking, that statement makes sense when the federal government has clearly failed miserably in this regard.
America's response to this depends upon the whole conservative/liberal thing I discussed yesterday. On the left, they aren't happy because the whole of SB-1070 didn't get completely shot down, and on the right, they are happy that at least the whole thing didn't get shot down. Personally, I'm saddened by today's result and I am in complete accord with the position taken by Justice's Scalia and Thomas.
I'm holding my breath to see what happens on Thursday when a decision is expected to come down concerning the constitutionality of 'Obama Care.' That is where the rubber will meet the road, and will either be a great win for the administration if it goes through or a great victory for We the People if it goes down in judicial flames. All any of us can do is pray as time will tell.