From The (Orangeburg) Times & Democrat:
By T&D Staff | Posted: Sunday, November 6, 2011
THE ISSUE: S.C. immigration law; OUR OPINION: Legislation has trouble constitutionally, practically
South Carolina’s new immigration law is being challenged by the federal government as unconstitutional. It’s the same type of challenge the U.S. Justice Department is making to similar laws in other states, including Arizona and Alabama. Laws in Georgia, Utah and Indiana are likely in line for federal challenge also in an environment that has states complaining they must act on immigration because the federal government will not.
The states’ arguments are not new. Arizona gained the highest profile when it pioneered legislation that would put new responsibilities on state law enforcement to check the status of people suspected of being illegals. The federal government’s challenge stopped implementation of the law but has not deterred other states from following a similar course.
Specifically, South Carolina’s law requires officers to check a person’s citizenship status if they suspect the person is in the country illegally. The check can come only after a driver is stopped or a person is questioned or detained for another reason. In keeping with immigration as a federal legal issue, the state does not act on its own with resolution of a case. An officer is to call federal immigration officials if he or she suspects a pesorn is here illegally. (more…)
Filed under: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona-copycat laws, Deportation, immigrant community, Law Enforcement, S.B. 20, South Carolina | Tagged: Bill Nettles, citizenship status, due process, Reggie Lloyd, show me your papers, unconstitutional | Leave a Comment »
