In a term already historic for the significance of cases to be decided, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today on the Arizona Immigration law that permits the state to do the following:
Require state and local enforcement to verity the citizenship status of anyone stopped, detained or arrested.
Authorize law enforcement officials to arrest without a warrant when an officer believes someone has committed a public offense that could lead to deportation
Make it a state crime to be in the US unlawfully, and require non citizens to carry documents to prove they are legally in the country
Make it a state crime for such a person to work or seek work, instead of the employer having the burden to verify legality of those seeking to work
This Arizona law has led to similar laws in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Utah and elsewhere.
The Supreme Court, with only eight Justices participating in the case, because Elena Kagan was Solicitor General in the Obama Administration, will have to decide if states can have their own immigration laws, or if this is only a federal matter.
This is one of the most controversial issues in America right now, and so far, a federal judge and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals have held up enforcement of much of the Arizona law, pending the decision in June of the Supreme Court.
The federal government is seen by many as not enforcing immigration laws, while others would say that more illegal immigrants have been deported under Barack Obama than under George W. Bush.
This Arizona law is seen by many as an issue of basic civil rights, and as racial profiling, so the decision in the case is going to be one of the major political stories of the year, and will have an effect on the Presidential Election of 2012.