So, this morning, the House added an amendment to a spending bill (HR 5326) that would prohibit the Department of Justice from suing States to stop State Immigration laws (such as Arizona's).
Now, I don't actually approve of the way this was done- if it's important enough to do, it should be important enough to have its own bill number. However, I will take the time to applaud the House (well, a little golf-clap, anyway) for the spirit of the idea. Immigration Policy is certainly a Federal Issue. However, within a State, the State should have the authority- so long as it does not directly contradict Federal Law, to decide how it enforces said policy. In the case of Arizona's law, and others like it, the laws have basically been reaffirmation of current Federal Law, and specific direction to Law Enforcement to enforce said Federal Law.
This is a positive step. This is an affirmation that the States are Sovereign Entities within their own borders, and have a great deal of autonomy therein. With a few more steps like this, perhaps we can begin moving back to a sane legal environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment