Partnership for a New American Economy

Santa Maria Times
May 6, 2012

It would seem the debate over immigration policy, simmering for years, is nearing a boil.

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up the question of whether states can create and enforce immigration policy. The case involves an Arizona law that promotes a form of racial profiling to allow local law enforcement officials to determine a person’s citizenship status.

It’s an odd juxtaposition of realities for the citizens of Arizona, who could be stopped and questioned by police based only on their physical appearance.

On its face, the law seems anti-American, a violation of the concept of personal freedoms upon which this nation was based. But listening to the line of questioning by the Supreme Court justices, and judging from theories floated by legal experts, there’s a good chance the profiling element of the Arizona law may be upheld, if not the entire law.

All of which raises an interesting point: If states are allowed to usurp what is clearly and constitutionally a foreign-policy mandate of the federal government with regard to immigration, are we headed toward another showdown about states’ rights vs. federal authority?

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