It seems the only roadblock to Obama’s Imperial Presidency is that annoyance of the Supreme Court. A few days ago, the Court announced its split decision regarding the Arizona Immigration Law and set the administration on a course of abdicating its responsibilities to uphold federal law in the detainment and seizure of people who are here in the United States illegally.
In my estimation, the Court had a tough decision. It is not the purview of the Supreme Court to make or implement immigration policy – that is the role of the Congress. The Court dealt with the Constitutional issue of whether the state of Arizona or the national government has the sovereign right of enforcement of the laws on the books. The split decision rightfully fulfilled the designs of the founders of the Republic by identifying parts of the sovereign power that is within the State of Arizona (police powers) while re-establishing the co-sovereign right of the national government to make immigration policy for the entire country.
Obama’s problem with the Court is a political one. The Obama Administration wants to be able to promote itself as a champion of rights for “new Americans” as Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley calls illegal immigrants and place them on a path to citizenship with voting rights within the next decade. This infusion of new voters, the largest since the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, will significantly alter the balance of power towards the Democratic Party for decades to come.
What a lovely plan of action and convenience… and in the words of the weekly Scooby-Doo villain “and I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling Supreme Court Justices.”
Faculty, Department of Political Science, Towson University. Graduate from Liberty University Seminary.