Monday, June 25, 2012

Arizona Imigration Law a Mixed bag According to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court issued its ruling on the Arizona Immigration law, but said they won't announce their ruling on Obama's healthcare (sometimes referred to as Obama Care) until Thursday. As for the immigration decision today they stroke down parts of the law, but left intact the central structure of the law.
The court unanimously sustained the law’s centerpiece, the one critics have called its “show me your papers” provision. It requires state law enforcement officials to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest if there is reason to suspect that the individual might be an illegal immigrant.
- New York Times
To me I don't understand how anyone could have a problem with this. Lets take a look at the keywords in the statement above.... " It requires state law enforcement officials to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest if there is reason to suspect that the individual might be an illegal immigrant."
If someone is stopped for speeding lets say, then yes if their immigration status is questioned they should be checked out. This is not stopping them randomly just to check out their immigration status. There shouldn't be anyone that has a problem with this. Likewise I find it hard to understand why anyone who immigrated to this country legally, waiting in all those lines, putting in the effort to get here legally, why would they support someone who bypassed all those channels and came here illegally. Thus in of itself makes them criminals. I support legal immigration, but I do not condone illegal immigration or any other illegal activity. Since it is a criminal act, it should be dealt with accordingly.

The High Court said regarding what was a 5-4 decision on the remaining three issues that the national government had power to regulate immigration and that Arizona could not enforce laws that undermined that power, even though the Court could understand it's frustration with the problems illegals cause.
President Obama said that he was "pleased" with the Court's decision to strike down some aspects of the law, but he voiced his concern about the remaining provision.
- New York Times
Well Obama just doesn't want to enforce the federal law at all, and is disappointed that at least one state will enforce it. Obama needs to learn to follow the law and he needs to learn to follow the Constitution, and stop making up his own laws.

So what were those three provisions?
  1. a provision that made it a crime under state law for immigrants to fail to register under a federal law
  2. a provision that made it a crime for illegal immigrants to work or to try find work
  3. a provision that allowed the police to arrest people without warrants if they have probable cause to believe that they have done things that would make them deport-able under federal law

I have problems with registering, it raises all kinds of privacy concerns for me, but since I am not sure exactly what that is all about I can't say a whole lot. If it is paying takes and getting a social security number like the rest of Americans/get a green card, okay, but if it is a special registration over and above that then I have alarm bells ringing in my head. Also I have huge problems with warrant-less arrests. The other provision is already a crime under federal law so i am not sure why that was struck down. It is a law that that needs to enforced better by all law agencies.

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My name is Kevin, and that's what I think. What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

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