Arizona Law

A judge's decision to invalidate the worst elements of Arizona's odious attempt to usurp federal authority over immigration doesn't mean the Obama administration has time to savor the moment. That Arizona and other states feel they must fill the void left by inadequate enforcement of federal immigration laws should have motivated the president long before now to make immigration reform a higher priority. He instead spent tremendous political capital on watered-down, but welcome, health-care reform, and - in large part due to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill - has failed to get traction on climate change.

Opponents of Arizona's immigration law rallied in Old City on Thursday to celebrate a federal judge's decision to put on hold controversial provisions of the law, which would have allowed police to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other statutes. "Immigration for some, quite frankly, has become the new segregation," Mayor Nutter told a rally at Welcome Park. "We need to figure out a real pathway to citizenship. We cannot have 50 different rules all across the United States of America.

The Justice Department lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration law is an Obama administration "effort to shore up the Hispanic vote in future elections," Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) told 200 demonstrators rallying in favor of the law in South Philadelphia on Wednesday. Speaking by telephone to Dom Giordano of the "Big Talker 1210 AM" radio program broadcasting from the sidewalk at Geno's Steaks, McCain said "people in Arizona feel a little bit under assault" because opponents of the law have called for boycotts of the state.

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania joined eight other states on Wednesday in a legal brief supporting Arizona's immigration law, just days after the Obama administration sued to block its enforcement. "We believe the lawsuit filed by the federal government in this case undermines the constitutional authority of all our states," said Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, spokesman for Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett, who is also the Republican gubernatorial nominee. Corbett's move was news to Gov. Rendell, his spokesman said late Wednesday.

About 50 people gathered outside City Hall in Camden on Thursday to protest Arizona's new immigration law, one of a dozen rallies throughout New Jersey. "It's solidarity with [the people of] Arizona, but it's also against any copycat legislation that might pop up," said Jonathan Marrero, 27, of Cherry Hill. "One of the obvious potential flaws is racial profiling. Americans should be as afraid of S.B. 1070 [the Arizona law] as undocumented immigrants, because it infringes on Fourth Amendment rights.

Solicitor General Elena Kagan has given the Senate Judiciary Committee a welcome opportunity to make this week's hearings on her Supreme Court nomination a substantive discussion of legal issues and judicial philosophy - and a departure from the charade they have become in recent years. Kagan has opened the door to such a discussion with her own words. In a 1995 Harvard Law Review article, she called modern confirmation hearings a "farce" notable for their "vacuity," in which "senators do not insist that any nominee reveal what kind of Justice she would make, by disclosing her views on important legal issues.

RE KERITH Gabriel's "High and Inside" column of June 2: I have a plan for all the players on the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Florida Marlins, New York Mets and anyone else who wants to jump on the bandwagon to oppose the Arizona law protecting our citizens and our border. These players make millions of dollars a year. My suggestion: Start a fund to support all of these people who've entered our country illegally, and who are demanding rights they're not entitled to. This would take a big burden off the taxpayers.

By Steve Hallock Arizona's racist and probably unconstitutional anti-immigration law has admirers in Pennsylvania. With bipartisan backing from State Reps. Daryl Metcalfe (R., Butler), Harry Readshaw (D., Allegheny), and others, House Bill 2479 would ape Arizona's controversial immigration law by empowering local and state police officers to arrest those who can't show that they're in the country legally. The bill would direct officers "to attempt to verify the immigration status of suspected illegal aliens.

WASHINGTON - Mexican President Felipe Calderon's appearance Thursday before a joint session of Congress dramatically illustrated - and possibly reinforced - the partisan divide that has stymied progress on immigration law. Calderon sharply criticized Arizona's tough new immigration law and the United States' refusal to ban assault weapons, which are being used in the violent drug-gang shootouts in Mexico. Afterward, Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) said Calderon "crossed a line" by urging changes in gun policy, and Sen. John McCain, (R., Ariz.

Selig: We're OK with the All-Star Game in Phoenix Commissioner Bud Selig on Thursday turned down calls to move next year's All-Star Game from Phoenix because of a newly enacted Arizona law that empowers police to investigate a person's immigration status. Asked about such demands at a news conference, Selig defended baseball's record of inclusion and cited last month's report from the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, which gave baseball an "A" for race and a "B" for gender hiring.