High Noon for Arizona; Supreme Court Hears S.B. 1070 Arguments

By Joe Guzzardi
April 25, 2012

For more than twenty-five years, activists promoting sensible immigration have faced a mountain of obstacles. One of the most common is the false charge that racism motivates them.

During the last quarter of a century, the federal government has done little to protect the border or utilize existing internal enforcement to deport millions of aliens.

Out of desperation, in 2010, Arizona passed S.B. 1070 which mirrors federal legislation and authorizes local police to enforce those laws which Washington D.C. has consistently ignored.

As a result of non-enforcement, Arizona has incurred significant taxpayer burdens. According to a Federation for American Immigration Reform analysis, "Illegal immigration costs U.S. taxpayers about $113 billion a year at the federal, state and local levels.”

Furthermore, an estimated 8 million working illegal immigrants take jobs from unemployed Americans. And, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that roughly a quarter of federal prisoners are foreign nationals, many illegal aliens, who are convicted drug smugglers, murderers or rapists.

As a border state, Arizona has suffered significantly from the unchecked alien flow. S.B. 1070 would provide relief from illegal immigration’s costs. However, under President Obama’s direction the Justice Department sued Arizona claiming among other things that it would lead to racial profiling.

Since S.B. 1070 passed, the legislation has been a political football with the brouhaha surrounding it intensifying as the November elections draw closer. In July 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton handed down the first ruling on the federal lawsuit when she blocked the law’s main provision that requires police to check immigration status “during any lawful stop, detention or arrest…”

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer appealed the ruling. Then, in April 2011, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided in Judge Bolton’s favor which, in turn, precipitated Governor Brewer’s announcement that she would take her fight to the Supreme Court. Oral arguments opened on April 25.

Significantly, however, the Justice Department won’t include the racial profiling angle as part of its argument. One reason may be that S.B. 1070’s Section 2 specifically states that an “enforcement official or agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state may not solely consider race, color or national origin…” Another reason may be that in 2005, Arizona’s then-Governor Janet Napolitano and the current Homeland Security Secretary declared a state of emergency as a result of providing costly services to aliens. Is Napolitano racist, too?

The Obama Administration has used its feeble arguments against S.B.1070’s implementation to court Hispanic voters. President Obama and sympathetic Congressmen have been unable to pass either his promised comprehensive immigration reform or the DREAM Act for which the president lobbied feverishly.

Eleven state attorneys general have filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to invalidate SB 1070. But Kansas Secretary of State and former Justice Department official Kris Kobach wrote in defense of the bill that the 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th Circuit courts "have all recognized the inherent authority of state and local officers to make immigration arrests."

In anticipation of a possible ruling against the administration, pro-immigration operative Senator Chuck Schumer has declared that he’ll move to invalidate any such decision through Congressional legislation even though, tellingly, he acknowledges that it would have no chance of passing. Schumer’s bill would establish federal primacy to block state action.

President Obama doesn’t agree with current immigration law. But since he’s been unable to change it though Congressional channels, he’s opted for indirect methods to tailor the laws to his personal perspective.

The Supreme Court should reject the administration’s specious arguments and uphold Arizona’s law.

Joe Guzzardi is a Californians for Population Stabilization Senior Writing Fellow. His columns have been syndicated since 1986. Contact him at [email protected].