Pat Dollard

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Politicology:

The Supreme Court of the United States announced that it will hear arguments on the controversial anti-illegal immigration law in Arizona known as S.B. 1070. President Obama’s most recent SCOTUS appointee, Justice Elena Kagan, has announced that she will recuse herself from the case.

Kagan had been Obama’s Solicitor General when the federal government led the lawsuit against the state of Arizona.

S.B. 1070 allows law enforcement to check the immigration status of individuals who are subject to routine police inspection, as in the case of a traffic stop. Critics say that the law violates the civil rights of citizens of Arizona. A lower court struck down the law, but their appeal has the support of 11 other states including Alabama which earlier this year instituted its own controversial illegal-immigration statue.

Kagan is under pressure to recuse herself from the pending case against the government when they hear arguments against the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obama’s healthcare reform effort). Kagan was heavily involved in the government’s efforts to draft and pass that law and some suspect that could constitute a conflict of interest in her role as a neutral Supreme Court Justice.

Reuters:

(Reuters) – The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would decide whether Arizona’s tough law cracking down on illegal immigrants can take effect, a case arising from the fierce national debate on immigration policy ahead of next year’s presidential election.

The high court agreed to review a ruling that put on hold the key parts of the law signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010. The case has been closely watched because several other states have adopted similar laws.

The law requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they detained and suspected of being in the nation illegally. Other parts require immigrants to carry their papers at all times and ban people without proper documents from soliciting for work in public places.

The justices are likely to hear arguments in the case in April, with a ruling due by July. It could produce another contentious election-year ruling for the court, which also will decide President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul law.

About 11 million illegal immigrants are believed to be in the United States. Immigration has become a major political issue, especially in states such as Arizona that border Mexico, ahead of the presidential and other U.S. elections in November 2012.

Obama and other opponents, including many Democrats and civil rights groups, have criticized the law and said it could lead to harassment of Hispanic-Americans.

The Obama administration challenged the law on the grounds the federal government has exclusive control over immigration enforcement. A federal judge and a U.S. appeals courts agreed, putting on hold the disputed provisions.

The law’s supporters, including many Republicans, said states need to take aggressive action because the federal government has failed to do enough to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the country.