Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will weigh in on whether or not Arizona’s anti-immigration law is constitutional and whether appeals courts proper grounds to block certain measures.
The high court was asked by the Obama administration to examine Arizona’s controversial immigration law, and determine if the it is constitutionally allowed to enforce immigration laws, which is the responsibility of the federal government.
The Supreme Court was asked to stay out of earlier court proceedings in the Arizona case, allowing the lower courts to examine it, which ultimately put parts of the law on hold.
Now, the high court will examine whether the lower federal courts had sufficient grounds to block the enforcement of a number of provisions in Arizona’s law including that which requires state law enforcement official to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop or detain and suspect may be in the country illegally, a measure many have said will lead to racial profiling. Under the law, undocumented immigrants are also not allowed to seek or obtain jobs, and all immigrants must carry immigration registration papers with them. Even if an immigrant is in the country legally, they can still be detained for not carrying their registration with them.
A U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr., told the U.S. Supreme Court in a brief that Arizona’s immigration measures upset the balance between “law enforcement priorities, foreign-relations considerations and humanitarian concerns.”
