THE NEXT AMERICA

Little Sympathy for Feds' Arguments in Ariz. Immigration Case

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Updated: April 25, 2012 | 1:44 p.m.
April 25, 2012 | 1:40 p.m.

Charles Balogh, from Alexandria, Va., demonstrates in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, as the court holds a hearing on Arizona's "show me your papers" immigration law.    (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Supreme Court justices showed little sympathy for the federal government’s argument that the “show me your papers” provision of Arizona’s immigration enforcement law is invalid, making it appear likely the high court will allow that part of the law to stand. 

(PICTURES: Scenes from Outside the Court)

In Wednesday’s oral argument in one of the most watched immigration cases in 10 years, Justice Antonin Scalia all but laughed the federal government’s lawyer out of the courtroom when he suggested that Arizona police officers were somehow deterring the federal government from enforcing immigration laws by simply asking federal officers whether a person they stop is illegal. Scalia demanded that Justice Department Solicitor General Donald Verrilli cite “any other case” in which a state law can be preempted for “interfering with an attorney general’s enforcement discretion… That’s an extraordinary statement.”

(RELATED: Live Chat with Fawn Johnson at 3 p.m.)

Chief Justice John Roberts noted the Arizona law only allows legal status checks if the police officer has pulled over a person for some other reason. The Arizona officer is simply alerting the federal government to an illegal alien’s presence. “It seems to me the federal government just doesn’t want to know who’s here or not,” Roberts said.


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