Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Arizona v. U.S.

Welcome to my new blog! Today the United States Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in the case Arizona, et all v. U.S. The question to be resolved here is whether penalties under Arizona law that are imposed for failure to follow federal immigration requirements are constitutional. The Government argues that only Congress has the plenary power to enforce immigration laws in this manner as given to it under the enumerated powers of the U.S. Constitution. Traditionally Congress can either preempt the entire field or share power with the States. The Government argues that in this case the plenary power of Congress over the field preempts action by the States. In a different blog post we will review the outcome of these oral arguments.