Russ J. Alan
Arizona immigration law: Supreme Court Justices rule a victory for Obama
By Russ J. Alan
The Supreme Court struck down the Arizona provisions that made it illegal for immigrants to be without registration documents, or to search for employment without work permits, or for law enforcement officers to be allowed to take "any alien" into custody who is deportable for having committed a specified offense.
The justices upheld the portion of the Arizona law which requires law enforcement officers to determine the immigration status of any individual they have reasonable suspicion to be in the US illegally and to detain them if they in fact are in the US illegally.
How do they define reasonable suspicion of illegal immigration status?
Considering the provisions of the law which were struck down by the court, couldn't a suspect tell the officer that they don't have their documents with them at the moment?
Today's Supreme Court ruling on the Arizona immigration law is a victory for Obama and the democrats. While law enforcement officers may ask for documents if they have reasonable suspicion the person is illegal — what constitutes reasonable suspicion of illegal immigration?
The court ruled that aliens are not required to have their documents in their posession, and even if the officer determines the person is an illegal alien, he can only detain the individual. He cannot take the person into custody even if the person is guilty of an ordinarily deportable offense, according to the justices' ruling.
© Russ J. Alan
June 25, 2012
The Supreme Court struck down the Arizona provisions that made it illegal for immigrants to be without registration documents, or to search for employment without work permits, or for law enforcement officers to be allowed to take "any alien" into custody who is deportable for having committed a specified offense.
The justices upheld the portion of the Arizona law which requires law enforcement officers to determine the immigration status of any individual they have reasonable suspicion to be in the US illegally and to detain them if they in fact are in the US illegally.
How do they define reasonable suspicion of illegal immigration status?
Considering the provisions of the law which were struck down by the court, couldn't a suspect tell the officer that they don't have their documents with them at the moment?
Today's Supreme Court ruling on the Arizona immigration law is a victory for Obama and the democrats. While law enforcement officers may ask for documents if they have reasonable suspicion the person is illegal — what constitutes reasonable suspicion of illegal immigration?
The court ruled that aliens are not required to have their documents in their posession, and even if the officer determines the person is an illegal alien, he can only detain the individual. He cannot take the person into custody even if the person is guilty of an ordinarily deportable offense, according to the justices' ruling.
© Russ J. Alan
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
