WASHINGTON POST (Article by Robert Barnes): The Supreme Court on Monday said states may play a limited role in enforcing laws on illegal immigration, upholding part of Arizonas controversial law but striking other portions it said intruded on the federal governments powers.
The justices let stand for now the part of the law that requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain or arrest if they have reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) declared that decision, on the part of the law that had generated the most controversy, a victory.
But the ruling also in part vindicated the Obama administration, with the court rejecting three provisions that the federal government opposed.
The court ruled that Arizona cannot make it a misdemeanor for immigrants to fail to carry identification that says whether they are in the United States legally; cannot make it a crime for undocumented immigrants to apply for a job; and cannot arrest someone based solely on the suspicion that the person is in this country illegally.
The court also said the part of the law it upheld requiring officers to check the immigration status of those they detain and reasonably believe to be illegal immigrants could be subject to additional legal challenges once it is implemented.
The other major decision of the courts term the constitutionality of President Obamas health-care law will come Thursday, on the final day of the term.
In a statement Monday, Obama said he was pleased that the Supreme Court has struck down key provisions of Arizonas immigration law. He added that the decision makes clear that Congress must act on comprehensive immigration reform, since a patchwork of state laws is not a solution to our broken immigration system. At the same time, Obama said, he remains concerned about the practical impact of the part of the law that was allowed to stand.
No American should ever live under a cloud of suspicion just because of what they look like, Obama said. Going forward, we must ensure that Arizona law enforcement officials do not enforce this law in a manner that undermines the civil rights of Americans, as the Courts decision recognizes.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, for his part, issued a statement that did not comment on the specifics of the ruling but instead said the decision underscores the need for a President who will lead on this critical issue and work in a bipartisan fashion to pursue a national immigration strategy.
Obama, Romney said, has failed to provide any leadership on immigration.
In the Arizona decision, the court acknowledged that the federal government plays the prominent role in immigration policies and said state laws must be carefully written to not intrude.
The sound exercise of national power over immigration depends on the nations meeting its responsibility to base its laws on a political will informed by searching, thoughtful, rational civic discourse, wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy for the five-member majority.
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