As reports on the Supreme Court’s hearing on immigration trickled out of the courtroom, proponents and opponents of Arizona’s immigration bill, known as SB 1070, reacted quickly.
It appears that the justices weren’t sympathetic to the federal government’s argument that state police officers would violate federal immigration jurisdiction if they checked the status of someone they pull over.
The questions lead to speculation at the law, at least in some part, may be allowed to stand.
Organizations on both side of the debate were quick to weigh in after the hearing. The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement stressing the need to stop SB 1070 and similar laws, because they “encourage racial profiling, harm public safety and lead to civil rights abuses.”
“The justices heard compelling argument for why they should strike down a law that lays waste to some of our most cherished American values-- freedom from unnecessary police intrusion and equality for all people, regardless of how they look or sound,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU.
Angelica Salas of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights based in Los Angeles called Arizona’s law “myopic, opaque, and divisive. CHIRLA expects the law to be struck down."
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