Texas Governor comments on Supreme Courts Arizona Law Decision
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Democrats hailed the ruling as gutting a crackdown that had gone too far.
Republicans said the big victory was retaining the statutes core provision.
In other words immigration will be even more of a defining campaign issue now than it was after Obamas relaxed deportation decision.
Mondays decision by the Supreme Court to uphold Arizonas right to check the legal status of individuals within its borders is a victory not only for the people of Arizona but for the rule of law said Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
But the ruling is one step forward and two steps back simply not good enough. It is bad enough that the Obama Administration picks and chooses which laws it wishes to enforce but ... for the United States Supreme Court to deprive states of some of those powers that are in the words of Justice Scalia the defining characteristics of sovereignty is insulting to the Constitution and our right to govern ourselves Perry said.
The justices struck down three of the four challenged provisions of Arizonas new illegal immigration law and gave a tentative blessing to the requirement that police check the status of everyone they suspect is in the state illegally.
The people of Arizona took action consistent with federal law and in direct response to the failure of this administration to secure our nations
borders. The absence of federal action on immigration enforcement directly spoils the integrity of our nations laws" said Governor Perry.
No state should be held hostage to a federal government that refuses to enforce the laws of the land said Perry of the Supreme Courts decision on Arizonas immigration law.
The court was unanimous in upholding the show me your papers" rule as something Arizona was within its purview to make but said the provision could be subject to additional constitutional challenges.
The vote was 5-3 to strike down the other sections as trumping the prerogative of the federal government to set immigration policy: Requiring all immigrants to carry registration papers making it a state crime for an illegal to seek or hold a job and allowing arrests of suspected illegals without warrants.
The decision on the future of the health care law will be announced at 10 on Thursday.
The justices said their current Supreme Court term would end after that 3-day extension; decisions are also due in cases on lying about military medals and real estate kickbacks.
