Court rejects Arizona's appeal in immigration case

[The Straight Story]

PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal of a blocked provision of Arizona's 2010 immigration enforcement law, dealing another blow to Gov. Jan Brewer in her effort to defend the law.

The court declined to review the ruling that barred police from arresting people who harbor those living in the United States illegally. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked police from enforcing the prohibition, concluding last year that it was vague and trumped by federal law, which already forbids harboring people in the country unlawfully.

The harboring ban is among a handful of provisions in the law known as Senate Bill 1070 that the courts have struck down.

"It's another indicator that Arizona is fighting a losing battle legally and politically," Karen Tumlin, an attorney representing civil rights groups challenging the law, said of Monday's denial.


http://bigstory.ap.org/article/court-wont-hear-arizona-appeal-over-harboring-ban

[Swede Atlanta]

1. When will these xenophobes give up?

Look, I am not happy that we have millions of undocumented persons living inside our borders. I am unhappy that we lack any program that determines the exit status of individuals as they leave the country by air, sea or land. Those are procedures that would take some time to implement but would help. It would help us determine who has been in the country legally (e.g. within the time of their ESTA or visa, etc.) and those that were here without documentation.

But we need to find a way forward. I am not for blanket amnesty. Those that entered this country without proper documentation must pay a price for that disrespect for our laws. What does that mean? We need to work that out politically.

We cannot have states determining these matters under state law. Immigration and border security is a federal responsibility. BO has in fact deported more undocumented workers than most recent presidents including GWB. This needs to be addressed on a more comprehensive basis.