| US court upholds law aiding crackdown on immigrants |
WASHINGTON Mitt Romney blasted President Barack Obama on Monday after the US Supreme Court upheld part of an Arizona law cracking down on illegal immigration that Romney had endorsed while seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
“Today’s decision underscores the need for a president who will lead on this critical issue and work in a bipartisan fashion to pursue a national immigration strategy,” Romney said in a statement.
He called the immigration issue a “broken promise” by the Democratic president, whom he faces in the November 6 election.
The Arizona law has aroused intense controversy because of a particular provision, 2(B), that requires police to stop and demand proof of citizenship of anyone they suspect of being illegal, even without probable cause.
In Monday’s ruling, US President Barack Obama and the Justice Department were largely vindicated on the wider issue of state interference into federal law on immigration matters.
In a victory for Obama’s Republicans opponents, justices unanimously refu-sed to strike down the crucial “check your papers” provision, as they said it was unclear, before its actual implementation, that it would raise constitutional concerns. “It was improper to enjoin 2(B) before the state courts had an opportunity to construe it and without some showing that 2(B)’s enforcement in fact conflicts with federal immigration law and its objectives,” the ruling said.
Justices rejected a series of other provisions, including those that would have criminalised immigrants for failing to register with the federal government, or for seeking work or working without proper documents.
They also struck down a clause that would have allowed police to arrest those suspected of being deportable without a warrant.
Senator Charles Schumer, chair of the Senate subcommittee on immigration and a senior member of Obama’s Democratic Party, called it “as strong a repudiation of the Arizona law as one could expect.”
Agencies
|
 |
|
|
| NEWS UPDATES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
