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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsObama ‘Pleased’ But ‘Concerned’ With Arizona Immigration Ruling (updated w/full statement)
President Obama said he is pleased but concerned after the Supreme Court invalidated some parts of SB 1070, Arizonas controversial immigration law that his Justice Department challenged.
I am pleased that the Supreme Court has struck down key provisions of Arizonas immigration law, President Obama said in a statement. What this decision makes unmistakably clear is that Congress must act on comprehensive immigration reform. A patchwork of state laws is not a solution to our broken immigration system its part of the problem.
But Obama said he is concerned about the key provision in the law that the court didnt address in Mondays ruling, requiring local law enforcement to check the immigration status of suspected undocumented immigrants.
Going forward, we must ensure that Arizona law enforcement officials do not enforce this law in a manner that undermines the civil rights of Americans, as the Courts decision recognizes, Obama said.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/obama-pleased-yet-concerned-with-az-immigration-law
Updated to add full statement:
I am pleased that the Supreme Court has struck down key provisions of Arizona's immigration law. What this decision makes unmistakably clear is that Congress must act on comprehensive immigration reform. A patchwork of state laws is not a solution to our broken immigration system its part of the problem.
At the same time, I remain concerned about the practical impact of the remaining provision of the Arizona law that requires local law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of anyone they even suspect to be here illegally. I agree with the Court that individuals cannot be detained solely to verify their immigration status. No American should ever live under a cloud of suspicion just because of what they look like. Going forward, we must ensure that Arizona law enforcement officials do not enforce this law in a manner that undermines the civil rights of Americans, as the Courts decision recognizes. Furthermore, we will continue to enforce our immigration laws by focusing on our most important priorities like border security and criminals who endanger our communities, and not, for example, students who earn their education which is why the Department of Homeland Security announced earlier this month that it will lift the shadow of deportation from young people who were brought to the United States as children through no fault of their own.
I will work with anyone in Congress whos willing to make progress on comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our economic needs and security needs, and upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. And in the meantime, we will continue to use every federal resource to protect the safety and civil rights of all Americans, and treat all our people with dignity and respect. We can solve these challenges not in spite of our most cherished values but because of them. What makes us American is not a question of what we look like or what our names are. What makes us American is our shared belief in the enduring promise of this country and our shared responsibility to leave it more generous and more hopeful than we found it.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/06/25/statement-president-supreme-court-s-ruling-arizona-v-united-states
russspeakeasy
(6,539 posts)Wow, I hope that doesn't get him in trouble with his base.
Swede Atlanta
(3,596 posts)for the "papers please" provision. If I really believed AZ law enforcement would only ask for proof of legal status in the event of "probable cause" I might be less concerned. But here the issue is "probable cause" will be based on ethnic profiling. Does the suspect speak English at all or with an accent? Does the suspect fit the profile of a recent immigrant? This is the rub for me.
I don't know there is a way to avoid ethnic profiling in this context. Either the police are allowed to question a suspect as to their legal status or they are not. If they are it will always be on the basis of ethnicity. Will they stop an Asian-American? Not likely. Will they (I'm thinking of Sheriff Asshole) stop any person that looks like they are of Hispanic origin? Every time, every one, etc. They will make up some bullshit about why they had probable cause, e.g. spoke with an accent.
BumRushDaShow
(130,142 posts)African Americans, with the assistance of others, have volunteered to perform numerous tests of these types of draconian laws in order to show the results vs the alleged intent of the law. From Plessey v Fergueson through the current time (where discrimination was shown based on the tester's name or cadence of voice, when denials of such practices were commonplace), thousands have done this and eventually helped to change the law.
Aggrieved communities need to adopt this strategy - I.e., in this case, have an "obvious" European-accented individual volunteer to test the law for what we all know was designed for profiling anyone but. And just keep at it to expose the hypocrisy and bias.