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The basis for the federal suit is likely to be lost in the media's echoing yelps, so let's clarify it: Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution says that the laws of the United States "shall be the supreme law of the land." That means that if there's a conflict, federal law trumps state law. At issue here: Does Arizona's immigration law -- which makes it a trespassing crime to be undocumented in Arizona -- "stand as an obstacle to the . . . purposes and objectives of Congress," which has enacted and is in the process of revising federal immigration laws?
Simply put, immigration is the jurisdiction of the federal government, not state governments.
The law is punitive and blatantly unfair. What does an "illegal immigrant" look like? It panders to partisan-generated hysteria. But for Democrats to gain politically, assuming the law is overturned by the courts, they'll have to address the values underlying the immigration issue, among them jobs and just access to "the system," such as bank accounts and driver's licenses. All the right does in claiming that "illegals from Mexico" threaten "American values" is feed the anger, and feed off the fear, of the ignorant here at home.
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