Yesterday it was announced the Supreme Court will hear arguments on Arizona's illegal immigration law SB 1070 sometime next year, putting the issue of state's rights in addition to illegal immigration front and center. Arizona, along with many other states, have been sued by the Obama Justice Department for trying to defend their citizens. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is pleased with the Court's decision to hear the case and told Fox News she looks forward to making a case for illegal immigration control on a local level.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's immigration law, Senate Bill 1070. Its ruling could impact immigration laws nationwide and push the immigration debate into the spotlight during the final months of the 2012 presidential race.
The high court issued its two-sentence decision to hear the case Monday morning. No court date has been set, but justices will likely hear arguments this spring and release a decision in the summer.
Gov. Jan Brewer asked the high court to hear the case after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Arizona federal Judge Susan Bolton's 2010 decision to halt several key parts of the law.
As Brewer mentioned, the ruling in favor of Arizona on the E-Verify program back in May is a positive precedence moving forward with the SB 1070 case.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Arizona is well within its rights to require employers to check the legal status of their workers through a federal government database. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce had sued the state over the law, arguing that immigration enforcement is exclusively the purview of the federal government.
At oral argument, four of the justices made it clear they would rule with Arizona. The final decision was 5-3. Justice Elena Kagan did not vote in the case because of her prior role as solicitor general in the Obama administration.
Writing the main opinion for the Court, Chief Justice John Roberts said that Arizona enforces its employment-verification requirement through licensing laws, which is a clear opening for states. “We hold that Arizona’s licensing law falls well within the confines of the authority Congress chose to leave to the states and therefore is not expressly preempted,” he wrote.