AZ Immigration law gutted by SCOTUS.

[Fly320s]

No one is talking about this?  Decision was released today.

Find your own link, I'm on my iphone. 

[Nick1911]

A link for you all.  I personally have no input on it, but figured I'd help Fly320's by giving everyone some context.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/25/homeland-security-suspends-immigration-agreements-/

[Perd Hapley]

Was it really gutted? Maybe more like trimmed back to the bone? Checking on a subject's immigration status was upheld unanimously.*


*Not counting the justice who recused herself.

[lupinus]

Kind of half assed win for both sides.

It guts some of it, and affirms other parts of it.

[longeyes]

I'm hearing a lot of people looking hard for the half-full glass.  Fact is, it doesn't matter what AZ does.  Obama just told AZ to **** themselves.  They are to be ignored.  Our President believes that DHS is his private army.  We'll see whether Congress or SCOTUS notices the whiff of fascism in the air. Frankly, I'm not holding my breath.

[Waitone]

Vote trading in the Supreme Court.  Go lightly on immigration and hammer Obamacare.  That is at least one theory that explains why Roberts sided with the majority.

[Fly320s]

Vote trading in the Supreme Court.  Go lightly on immigration and hammer Obamacare.  That is at least one theory that explains why Roberts sided with the majority.

To what end? What would Roberts gain by playing that game?

[longeyes]

Wasn't the whole idea to insulate SCOTUS from having to play political trading games?

[AJ Dual]

Vote trading in the Supreme Court.  Go lightly on immigration and hammer Obamacare.  That is at least one theory that explains why Roberts sided with the majority.

I think the justices all agreed on the decision, just for very different reasons. The liberals, the usual bleeding heart reasons, and all of a sudden, they just "happened" to find constructionist religion.  The conservatives, over separation of state and federal powers issues. For better or worse, I think the conservatives just read the Constitution. 

Tom Clancy's words "The Constitution was never intended to be a suicide pact" ring in my head. However, it's a no-win situation. Doing end-runs for stuff "we like" opens the door for the other side to run roughshod in even worse ways in the future.

And despite the provisions of the AZ law that did get struck down, it was the ability of AZ LEO's/LEA's to ascertain the immigration status of anyone they came into contact with in the course of their duties that PO'ed the Left and LaRaza types the worst anyway, and that stood. Realistically, AZ could pass as many tough laws as they wanted, and unless the fed.gov gets serious about the duties of the CPB/ICE and gives them teeth to locate and deport illegals, it always was more of a protest action on AZ's part anyway. It's not as if AZ was going to set up their own deportation centers back into Mexico...

[Waitone]

To what end? What would Roberts gain by playing that game?

Courts are identified by their chief justice.  The Warren court is synonymous with left wing liberal activist court.  By coming down on AZ immigration hard and Obamacare hard the Roberts court would become synonymous with right wing conservative activist court.  These distinctions are important to people who want to maintain a fiction institutional neutrality.

[seeker_two]

And what if AZ pulls an Obama & enforces it anyway? Will the SCOTUS just sit on its hands again like in HELLER & MCDONALD?.....

[RevDisk]

I think the justices all agreed on the decision, just for very different reasons. The liberals, the usual bleeding heart reasons, and all of a sudden, they just "happened" to find constructionist religion.  The conservatives, over separation of state and federal powers issues. For better or worse, I think the conservatives just read the Constitution. 

Tom Clancy's words "The Constitution was never intended to be a suicide pact" ring in my head. However, it's a no-win situation. Doing end-runs for stuff "we like" opens the door for the other side to run roughshod in even worse ways in the future.

And despite the provisions of the AZ law that did get struck down, it was the ability of AZ LEO's/LEA's to ascertain the immigration status of anyone they came into contact with in the course of their duties that PO'ed the Left and LaRaza types the worst anyway, and that stood. Realistically, AZ could pass as many tough laws as they wanted, and unless the fed.gov gets serious about the duties of the CPB/ICE and gives them teeth to locate and deport illegals, it always was more of a protest action on AZ's part anyway. It's not as if AZ was going to set up their own deportation centers back into Mexico...

There is no perfect solution. But deporting illegal immigrants is obviously legal. While "papers please" during everyday activities is a bad idea, I see nothing wrong with checking immigration status along with license, insurance, registration, et al during other police activities. When in doubt, cut 'em loose.