Senator: If Court Doesn't Strike Arizona Immigration Law, Congress Will

Updated 3:33 p.m.

If the U.S. Supreme Court upholds an Arizona immigration law after hearings this week, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other legislators say they will file legislation to undo it.

“Congress does not intend for states to enforce their own immigration schemes,” Schumer said at a hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill. “It is simply too damaging to our economy and too dangerous to our democracy, to have 50 different states be permitted to take their own direction when it comes to immigration policy.”

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on Arizona’s immigration enforcement law, SB 1070, which gives police broad authority to detain individuals suspected of being in the country illegally. Schumer said the Arizona law also makes it a federal crime for any individual to fail at any time to possess documents verifying their immigration status.

At a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing, Schumer said his legislation would expressly preempt states and localities from enforcing immigration law unless doing so with the consent of the federal government, and prevent states from enacting their own civil or criminal penalties for immigration violations.

Schumer said he hopes the legislation will not be necessary, “because I do believe the Supreme Court will decide SB 1070 is not constitutional.” The Supreme Court has consistently interpreted the naturalization language in Article I to mean that the establishment of the immigration laws and the manner of their execution are committed solely to the federal government, Schumer said.

The author of Arizona’s immigration law, Russell Pierce, testified at the hearing that the bill is overwhelmingly supported by citizens across the nation.

And he says he has seen the effects of a porous border: drug traffickers, terrorists, even his own son, a law enforcement officer, who was critically wounded by illegal alien. “In Arizona alone, the cost of illegal immigration is approximately $2.6 billion, and that is just to educate, medicate and incarcerate,” Pierce said.

That does not count crimes committed by illegal immigrants, or jobs lost by residents, he said. 

But Arizona attorney and former U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D) said the bill is ill-founded, mean-spirited and divisive. “If you’ve got brown skin in my state, you’re going to be asked to prove your citizenship,” he said.

Ranking member of the judiciary committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said in a written statement sent after the hearing that many Americans will wonder "why we’re spending time, money and energy on an issue that will be decided by the Supreme Court."

"It’s time for Congress to focus on strengthening our border security, boosting employment verification procedures, and enhancing existing legal avenues for people who want to live, study, and work in this country," Grassley stated. "It’s time for real reform, not another dog and pony show."

 

Comments

[Masha]

I wish Lawmakers will direct their energy to solve the problem on the national level. It is easier than they think. Can US deport 11 million people and support 4 million American citizen children left behind for the next 16-18 years? Probably "Yes", but only if Republicans will approve a tax increase for the rich and everybody else. If they can't or won't vote for the tax increase then they need to work some kind of Immigration Reform and do it promptly. It also will increase their chances to put Republican president in the White House.

[DKK]

Chuck, if the federal government enforced its OWN laws, then Arizona would not have to legislate its own. Worse, Jan Brewer is tired of the feds working contrary to the law.
Hey, I have a great idea. Move to Arizona, and buy a ranch there (hey, you have the $$ you 1% er) in a border town. See how fast you change your tune, moron.

[Rick Wallace]

Chuck and all his moron friends in Congress keeps saying that no state should have the power to enforce there own immigration laws.Well if that is true than maybe Chuck the dumb F--k could tell me how all these states are making there own laws by declaring there state to be a Sancotionary State .

[Yvonee Bell]

Chucky Shumcky obviously doesn't understand or believe in the US Constitution. The states are only enforcing what the Feds are required to do but are not. Dam one-world communist morons.

[Dr. Gene Nelson]

I think that Schumer's claims are mere political posturing. Such legislation has failed to pass at the federal level even after Arizona began its push for immigration enforcement about a decade ago. Senator Schumer and other "open borders" Democrats MAY be able to obtain passage of such legislation in the U.S. Senate - at least until the 113th Congress is seated in January 2013 since the Democrat party has a thin margin in the U.S. Senate. However, since this nation has a bicameral legislature, such legislation must also pass in the U.S. House, which has become a much more pro-enforcement of immigration legislation since 2010, when the Republican party took over. Schumer's proposed legislation has a "snowball's chance" of passage in the U.S. House.

There is widespread popular support for enforcing existing immigration law, as measured in polls and the passage of state and local laws when the federal government elected to not enforce existing immigration law during the past few administrations. I believe that the federal non-enforcement choice has much more to do with so-called lobbying (actually legally sanctioned bribery via campaign finance contributions) than with popular will. The pro-open borders lobby via such organizations as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Immigration Lawyer's Association of America (AILA) exert outsized influence via such channels.

Remember that there were supposed to be strong sanctions against employers hiring illegal immigrants as part of the 1986 immigration amnesty. The greedy elites backing open-borders organizations prevented that important aspect of the law from taking effect. I believe that U.S. voters should use the powerful no-cost tools at NumbersUSA dot com to push for passage of H.R. 2885, the Legal Workforce Act as part of the long-overdue increase in enforcement of immigration laws.

[Peter gens]

Like it or not,, the Constitution has the Supremacy Clause. So barring an amendment Congress can indeed preempt.

[HSG]

Brittanicus, do you really expect anyone to read that ridiculously long manifesto? The site encourages one to "post a comment," not "post a diatribe." How many thousands of forums and news blogs have you cut-and-pasted that screed?

[Hacim Obmed]

The dispute between the Obama administration and the state of Arizona concerns the doctrine of "preemption" as it relates to our immigration laws. One may think of preemption by analogy with how the fielders handle fly balls in a baseball game. If a fly goes to the infield then in theory any fielder can catch it but in practice if too many go for the ball simultaneously they can collide and interfere with each other. Hence the coach gives the players some prior guidance as to which should take balls hit to different areas. Generally if the ball is hit to short center then the second baseman takes it. This infielder thus has "preeminence" for such plays. On the other hand if there is a man on first, the ball should be taken by the shortstop in order to make a double play. The similar situation operates in immigration where the federal government and the states are the players and the supreme court is the coach. According to prior instructions handed down in the 1930's, the feds are supposed to handle the whole issue of immigration and the states are supposed to back off. In the present circumstances however, the feds have allowed literally millions of illegal aliens to enter the country and they are taking jobs that can only legally be done by americans. Moreover the feds are all twisted into legal knots and endless appeals every time they try to deport someone. Hence I beleive that the supreme court will decide that the feds have debauched themselves and they are distracted and unable to handle their normal job. As a result, the court has a perfect right to rearrange the play book and take away their right of preeminence and give it to the states. Indeed this is necessary because there is a crisis, the present rules are not working and a state like AZ has an absolute responsibility to step in and try to protect its citizens. The state must act as shortstop when the federal second baseman is out of position..

[Brittanicus]

In a new Reuters-Ipsos opinion poll ( not exclusively a rightist newspaper) found about 70 percent of those surveyed favored state laws that let police check a person's immigration status and make it a crime for an illegal immigrant to work in the United States; about 30 percent opposed such measures. WHAT MORE PROOF DOES THIS ADMINISTRATION WANT? THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS COSTLY TRAVESTY? This week the Supreme Court will hear Arizona vs. United States and if its policing statutes go against this small defenseless border state, the American voter must push, pursue and use the severe pressure of the vote to verbally intimidate every Republican, Democrat and Liberal to get the “THE LEGAL WORKFORCE ACT” in front of the House, before taxpayers suffer any more at the hands of corrupt politicians who have sold us into financial slavery.

Repeating that special visas should be expedited for top professionals in Science, Engineering, and a whole range of high technology, given us the brain power for a futuristic U.S, but we must spend the money to check on females who are carrying an unborn infant, with new detection systems at entry ports, as 400.000 arrivals are ready to conceive annually and then apply for welfare. Just calculate the uncompensated cost to hospitals that have to pay for these deliveries, that are then passed on to taxpayers? By the Congress just amending the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 (H.R.140) the country could discontinue this billion dollar soaking of individual states? Don’t know who to call in Washington, and then phone 202-224-3121 the switchboard that will connect you with your Representative? Every prudential contender would be well advised to read the immigration sullen statistics advanced by “The Heritage Foundation” Can we afford 2.5 Trillion dollars to legitimize the 20 million plus Illegal’s who have settled here? That is what the Heritage Foundation has forecasts. Not all Tea Partier’s have excellent grades as found on the American patrol site, that not only covers the illegal alien issue, but a daily helping of the e-media from the National press, but anything that is against “the Rule of law’ and the sovereignty of this nation, constantly broken by Obama people.

NOVEMBER! It could be the rebirth of America, as the Tea Party, the PEOPLE’S PARTY, the Constitutional Party gains more seats in the Senate and House. A takeover! Hundreds of thousands of people, most probably millions, who have never shown any political interest before, have been made aware that the leftists are going to press non-citizens in registering to vote. Without any State Boards of Elections regulations being reevaluated, that shows a picture ID of the person voting, saying who they say they are, than the whole trust concept will be compromised? Already in Florida, Georgia and Colorado large numbers of non citizens and illegal immigrants have been revealed through television interviews. The U.S. senate candidate may have been decided by convicted felons who voted illegally in Minnesota's Twin Cities. If there had been an honest election and incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman had won, there would never had been nearly a trillion dollars stimulus package.

With so much at stake the Democrats have a demonstrated a record of signing up canvassers, who have less than reputable reputations that includes ACORN, justifiably being prosecuted in eleven states for registering non-citizens in large numbers. The left have been crafting committees to overturn any chance of many states, insisting on the use of showing official ID. Attorney General Eric Holder, ‘FAST AND FURIOUS PREDATOR’ has failed and shown great reluctance to prosecute groups, like the re-emergence of the Black Panthers to investigate intimidation and wrongdoing. Holder has also beneficial for the Democrats in using a strong arm to harass Arizona and freedom loving states, to stop the financial bleeding process of taxpayers, burdened perpetually for medical, schooling of unfunded court mandates. He is being shielded by the Obama Czars, thralls like Axelrod and even Obama himself, who are not apologetic. A TEA PARTY majority in the Senate and House can at least prosecute Eric Holder and his followers in his peer’s court.

Most signatories to the European Union including France must possess some form of official Identification to vote. Before even Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy could vote, he was seen in television broadcast of handing over to election supervisors an identification passport like document. France has had a national ID card for all citizens since the beginning of World War II in 1940. The majority of countries included in the European Union must carry some form of picture ID, except for the United Kingdom that relies on a Drivers License, other than foreign nations who must carry an ID card.

It is unlikely that America will ever be issued a national ID card, but if it came about like in other nations, many of the issues that cause billions of dollars in court cases, congressional oversight and other situations governing this would be a thing of the past. And the communist founded ACLU couldn’t torture the American people no more, with their political correctness doctrine. Its well established fact by now that because racial profiling has been carefully administered successfully, that Mohamed Atta who was stopped by the police prior to 9/11 would have been held in custody. This document should be issued to every legal population of our nation, free as in many other countries. What’s a few billion dollars when illegal aliens are stealing states blind, with a cost of over a $ hundred billion annually? An official would visibly serve the citizens to this country, to prove eligibility to vote, to drive a car, access to health care, to education and be the document for many other uses. Instead currently there is a marked increase of illegal aliens voting in state and local races. The usual group of organizations screaming voter suppression in the State of South Carolina, as they enacted a voter ID law. So Governor Nicki Haley gave every voter the opportunity to arrive at the polling station. Out of 50 million people only 23 voters took the initiative, to be driven to the voting place to vote?

Currently states with strict voter ID laws are Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, South Carolina and Texas. Then states with less stringent voter ID laws are Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan and South Dakota. States with poor voter ID laws are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Washington. Then there 19 states with no voter Identification laws at all, that could substantially change the direction of any election from the President, down to the elected administrators of cities and counties, specific in close races. The Sanctuary State of California is overwhelmed by illegal migrants and immigrants, who are treated to all the entitlements that the poorest of Americans receive. In a Democratic run state house, the liberals seated there will never change the demands for a tougher set of regulations, so illegal aliens cannot vote and the same can be said for Senator Harry Reid’s Nevada. Blue state capitols are dead against any rules in elections, to stop either non citizen, who lean towards the left.

Democrats have been caught with their ‘hand in the cookie jar’ so to speak, time and time again There is a terrible sense of foreboding when distasteful organizations as ACORN are concerned, or Democratic legislator run states who have conveniently ignored the need for picture ID, as simple as a states card or even a drivers license, that they are fully aware that a utility bill, internet, phone or television bill can be easily be forged or any document using a computer printer. External vulnerability is the absentee ballot, where under the law, county election officials must decide whether the signature on a request for an advance ballot matches the individual’s previous signature that could be on a voter registration form or another type of recognition. This is just asking for fraudulent returns regarding voting document.

As an example a voter was in Andover, Minnesota resident who voted once in person using her own name and also completed a forged absentee ballot in an apparent variation of her daughter’s name. The daughter was away at college and also voted in her college precinct. Election officials detected the apparent duplicate vote and contacted the daughter who denied voting twice. Eventually, the mother was contacted and admitted that it was she who completed the absentee ballot in her daughter’s name. The woman was charged with three felonies, but was sentenced only to temporary probation and was ordered to repay the costs of her prosecution. THERE STEALING PEOPLE’S IDENTIFICATION TO GET WORK AND SO ISN’T THAT A FELONY?

Department of Justice (DOJ) has prosecuted more non-citizen voting cases in Florida than in any other state. Florida is not exclusive as thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote in some states and tens if not hundreds of thousands in entirety may be present on the voter rolls nationwide. These numbers are major and from local elections which are often determined by only a handful of votes. Constant national elections have likely been within the margin of the number of non-citizens ille¬gally registered to vote. One Naples, Florida voter admitted she was not a U.S. Citizen, nor a legal immigrant, but election records show she voted six times in the past eleven years. Voter fraud has ricochet in the last decade and when illegal aliens admit they have voted multiple times and not sitting in prison, something is seriously wrong with our election system?

Think about the undeniable reality that Democrats are essentially to blame, because they will not entertain any requirement for voter ID, perceptively full well that that non citizen voter could improve their chances of winning. That is why the only chance of having a fair election is through voting every potential Tea Party member candidate who will bring some resemblance of honesty back to this great nation.

Democrats and the surrogate Liberals know they can claim millions of extra votes from non citizens, if they promise them welfare entitlements, food stamps, low income housing and other benefits. They can also introduce legislation if Obama gets a second term to shove passage of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, down taxpayer’s throats. THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP needs more members to SPONSOR “H.R. 2885, to be introduced as Chairman Smith's 'Legal Workforce Act’ instead of blocking its passage. E-Verify has become bipartisan as more Democrats are realizing that as federal law could mean placement to American workers and discharging foreign nationals. The Obama Administration has issued a statement that it is getting E-Verify ready to introduce a big development, from the DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS) in Preparing the 50-states for Mandatory E-Verify Law. Republican House leaders are definitely being held accountable, for making it law sooner.

[Jim Hunsinger]

A little precision here would be nice. Nobody (not even Schumer) alleges that the Arizona law (no longer a bill since it was passed) also makes it a federal crime for any individual to fail at any time to possess documents verifying their immigration status. States do not purport to establish federal crimes, nor has Arizona. It makes it a felony, not a federal crime.