Supremacy
Preempt
Facilitate
Enforce
Preempt
Facilitate
Enforce
These are the important criteria to consider SB1070 and its relationship to the federal Code.
Almost everyone agrees that a state cannot pass and enforce a law that is contrary to federal law that is in line with the Constitution.
The federal government has just filed suit challenging the state of Arizona’s new anti-illegal immigration law. The basis? The Supremacy Clause, which says that federal law trumps state law.
But that argument should only have credibility if a state law is contrary to the federal law. In this case, the state law mimics the US Code.
It basically gives the state a mechanism to enforce federal law, to turn over people police have a reasonable suspicion to believe may be illegal over to the feds.
Courts have consistently ruled that the states have “concurrent authority” when state law only mimics federal law. -- Five federal appeals courts have applied this in context of illegal aliens, upholding states’ rights to arrest illegals.
It is also being reported that the other ground for the legal challenge is racial profiling but the SB1070 specifically addresses that issue In fact, SB1070 contains specific language that makes it illegal for a police officer or other government official to use profiling when enforcing the law. Current United States Statutes does not contain this safeguard.
Finally, a 2002 memo from the Justice department concluded that state police have “inherent power” to arrest undocumented immigrant for violating federal law. That memo will come back to haunt them now.
Courts have consistently ruled that the states have “concurrent authority” when state law only mimics federal law. -- Five federal appeals courts have applied this in context of illegal aliens, upholding states’ rights to arrest illegals.
It is also being reported that the other ground for the legal challenge is racial profiling but the SB1070 specifically addresses that issue In fact, SB1070 contains specific language that makes it illegal for a police officer or other government official to use profiling when enforcing the law. Current United States Statutes does not contain this safeguard.
Finally, a 2002 memo from the Justice department concluded that state police have “inherent power” to arrest undocumented immigrant for violating federal law. That memo will come back to haunt them now.
To come to any other conclusion would mean that state laws against robbery, kidnapping, and murder or laws banning discrimination or health and safety laws, etc. are all illegal since there are national statutes covering such actions.
The ridiculous position of the Obama Justice Department seems to be that whenever a state has a law covering an action that is covered under federal law, it would be automatically illegal under the Supremacy Clause. This has never been the law and any attempt to implement it in this case by a District Court would be shocking.
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