Supreme Court casts doubt on Obama’s
immigration law claim
From The Washington Times
Supreme Court justices took a dim view of the Obama administration's claim
that it can stop Arizona from
enforcing immigration laws, telling government lawyers during oral argument
Wednesday that the state appears to want to push federal officials, not conflict
with them.
The court was hearing arguments on Arizona's
immigration crackdown law, which requires police to check the immigration
status of those they suspect are in the country illegally, and would also write
new state penalties for illegal immigrants who try to apply for jobs.
The Obama administration has sued, arguing that those provisions conflict
with the federal government's role in setting immigration policy, but justices
on both sides of the aisle struggled to understand that argument.
"It seems to me the federal government just doesn't want to know who's
here illegally," Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said at one point.
The Arizona law requires all
police to check with federal officials if they suspect someone is in the
country illegally. The government argues that is OK when it's on a limited
basis, but said having a state mandate for all of its law enforcement is
essentially a method of trying to force the federal government to change its
priorities.
Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. said the federal government has
limited resources and should have the right to determine the extent of calls it
gets about possible illegal immigrants.
"These decisions have to be made at the national level," he said.
But even Democratic-appointed justices were uncertain of that.
"I'm terribly confused by your answer," said Justice Sonia
Sotomayor, who went on to say that the federal government can always decline to
pick up illegal immigrants when Arizona
officials call.
The Obama administration was on its firmest ground when it argued Arizona
should not be allowed to impose state penalties such as jail time against
illegal immigrants who try to seek jobs.
Federal law chiefly targets employers, not employees, and Mr. Verrilli said
adding stiffer penalties at the state level is not coordination. He said
Congress's 1986 immigration law laying out legal penalties was meant to be a
comprehensive scheme, and Congress left employees untouched — and Justice
Sotomayor seemed to agree.
"It seems odd to think the federal government is deciding on employer
sanctions and has unconsciously decided not to punish employees," she told
Paul D. Clement, who argued the case on behalf of Arizona.
A decision is expected before the end of the court's term this summer.
Only eight justices were present for
the arguments. Justice Elana Kagan recused herself from the case, presumably
because she was the Obama administration's solicitor general in 2010, when the
law was being debated in Arizona.
Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the measure into law, was present for the
arguments, as were members of Congress who follow the immigration issue: Rep.
Zoe Lofgren of California, the
top Democrat on the House immigration subcommittee, and Rep. Steve King, an
Iowa Republican who has fought for an immigration crackdown.
Critics have said the law, known as SB 1070, will lead to racial profiling
of Hispanics in Arizona. But the
Obama administration has not challenged the law on those grounds, instead
focusing on issues of federal versus state power.
Mr. Verrilli said Arizona's
goal is to try to force the federal government to change its priorities, but he
said those policies are designed at the national level in order to balance
concerns over available resources and international relations.
"What [Arizona is] going
to do is engage effectively in mass incarceration," he said. "It
poses a very serious risk of raising serious foreign relations problems."
Some of the justices, including Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., seemed
concerned that allowing police to perform immigration checks could end up
leading citizens being held even longer during stops by police.
Mr. Clement said the law still complies with the Fourth Amendment's limits
on unreasonable searches.
Anticipating an unfavorable ruling, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a New York
Democrat who is a critic of the Arizona
law, said Tuesday that if the court does uphold the state's law, he will
introduce legislation to overturn that decision and grant the federal
government sole control on immigration matters.
Mr. Schumer's legislation would also overturn a 2011 Supreme Court case that
upheld a separate Arizona law
that requires all businesses in the state to check employees' legal status
using E-Verify, the federal government's electronic verification system.
In that instance Congress specifically left open the chance for states to
pass their own business licensing laws, and in a 5-3 ruling the justices upheld
Arizona's attempt.
Since Arizona passed its laws,
other states have followed suit. Local enforcement laws have been adopted in a
half-dozen states, though all have been challenged in court. Still states have
adopted requirements that businesses use E-Verify.