The illegal immigration debate is heating up once again. Arizona's SB1070 goes into effect on July 29th and the US government is the lead plaintiff looking to sue the state. Although the official documents have not been filed in the courts, there is talk that the US government will sue because Arizona is stepping into federal government's territory because the feds should determine immigration policy. How true is this?
Immigration is not mentioned in the US Constitution. However, in Article 1, Section 8 allows the Congress "to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization..." Congress may determine the rules under which a foreign-born person may become a citizen.
As a sovereign nation, the US can prescribe the terms and conditions on which aliens come in. Congress has already stated the conditions under which aliens may enter (Title 8, Section 1325) the US and this is exclusive of state regulation. Further, the states "can neither add to nor take from the conditions lawfully imposed by Congress upon admission, naturalization and residence of aliens in the US..."
Article 4, Section 3 & 4 state, "...The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States...The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion..."
As it stands:
- The founding fathers specifically enumerated the powers of the federal government in order to avoid tyranny on one hand and anarchy on the other. Those powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for the States according to the 10th amendment.
- Clearly, the federal government only has the right to establish the Rules of Naturalization. The states are not permitted to infringe upon or add that power of the Congress. Arizona is not seeking to establish the rules for naturalization.
- Congress has already established the rules and regulations respecting the territory of the states. This is done through Title 8 of the US Code.
The federal government does not have a proverbial "leg to stand on." The only way the federal government could subvert Arizona law is to "stack the deck" in the Supreme Court or pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform (aka amnesty).
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RED FLAG WARNING TO ALL AMERICANS AND LEGAL RESIDENTS:
ON MONDAY, a number of Senators led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) Sen. Hatch (R-Utah), Vitter (R-La.), Bunning (R-Ky.), Chambliss (R-Ga.), Isaakson (R-Ga.), Inhofe (R-Okla.), Cochran (R-Miss.) demanded answers of a possible plan by the White House to provide an Amnesty to the nation's estimated 11-18 million illegal aliens through an executive order. The move would take immigration enforcement out of the hands of Congress and place it in the hands of the Executive Branch. Call, Fax, Email or see your Members of Congress at (202) 224-3121 to express your outrage at Pres. Obama's plan to provide Amnesty through Executive Order. READ THE LETTER SENT TO PRESIDENT OBAMA BY THESE LAWMAKERS AT NumbersUSA. Already over 112.000 faxes have been sent by irate Citizens-legal residents to legislators throughout the country.
Some one needs to take this guy down any way we can
You don't seem to understand 1) the concept of standing to sue, as you stated that the government has no standing yet did not address that issue whatsoever; 2) that federal immigration laws could have more than one constitutional basis.
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