The upcoming Supreme Court decision on Arizona’s immigration enforcement law SB 1070 will have an impact on both the 2012 elections and on the lives of millions of immigrants, reassures a Spanish-language news report in a Univision program. The Hispanic News Network said that the decision would come in June in the midst of the 2012 presidential campaign and will greatly influence the Obama campaign against the eventual Republican nominee. It is worth highlighting the fact that with Justice Elena Kagan not voting, five of the remaining eight justices were selected by Republican administrators. In spite of where the Justice’s ideologies may lie in the overall scheme of things, the immigration issue is a constitutional one and the Court cannot decide against the Constitution. For this reason, the logical expectation of the result will be one that strips Arizona and every other state of its ability to issue immigration law because it does not fall within their constitutional rights, but the official verdict remains to be seen of course.
Marcello Raimon from Agencia ANSA, the Latin-American news agency, said “we have to wait with our fingers crossed,” hoping “that the Supreme Court does not decide to allow states to do what they want.” Further adding that, “It is on the conscience of the justices if they will destroy the lives of millions of people. I find it very interesting that instead of talking about immigration reform for 11 million undocumented immigrants, the anti-immigrant environment in the U.S. is so large we’re talking about these issues.” This Supreme Court decision to hear the legal challenge to Arizona’s controversial immigration law comes at a time when the leading GOP presidential candidates are talking about immigration and trying to strengthen support with Latino voters. Newt Gingrich has called for a “humane” approach to immigration enforcement and Republicans share his approach to immigration, but the GOP still has to work hard to get Latino Voters in important swing states in the 2012 presidential elections. Immigration will surely be a “hot” topic of discussion for the upcoming presidential debates and the Supreme Court’s decision will likely frame the direction of the candidates’ platform on this issue.
