Arizona And The 14th Amendment: A Fight The State Cannot Afford

This blog has long contended state passed immigration laws are problematic for many reasons, not least because of the civil rights implications of having un-trained local law enforcement officers profiling people based on their skin color and other characteristics deemed to be "undocumented like."

On top of these problems, there are very real economic and legal issues, which are conveniently listed below:

1. Costly Law Suits From Local and National Organizations
2. Possible Involvement Of Federal Government In The Form Of More Law Suits
3. Budget Deficits For Overtime Pay of Local Law Enforcement Officials
4. Backlash from Local Law Enforcement Officials Who Are Divided On Whether The Laws Are Effective
5. National Political Backlash

With Arizona introducing a bill in the state legislature last week to revoke the 14th Amendment, the Arizona Republic has released an editorial outlining why the state can ill afford passing this latest anti-immigrant state law.

You may believe "birthright citizenship" should be ended. Fine. Get involved on the national level. Measures before Congress target birthright citizenship with two different strategies. This is the place to have the debate.  If you think Arizona should be leading this fight, please think again.

The state's efforts to enact immigration laws resulted in one law (employer sanctions) winding up before the U.S. Supreme Court and another one (SB 1070) on an inevitable path toward the nation's big, white marble courthouse.

What this editorial does so well is articulate just how expensive these state passed laws are to the general population of the state while also rightly noting that the appropriate place to have these discussions is the Congress.

Congress is best equipped to host this debate. An Arizona-led court battle over birthright citizenship would also be a waste of money. Arizona faces billion-dollar deficits for years to come. We don't need to throw buckets of cash at high-priced lawyers. What's more, the bills introduced in the Arizona House and Senate last week may be tossed by the courts on grounds that fall far short of the 14th Amendment challenge their authors intend.

Read the full editorial, it goes on to explain exactly how the state passed law would deny children of undocumented immigrants birth right citizenship.

What is most important about this editorial is that it outlines the problem's associated with state passed immigration legislation, from the perspective of a state that is currently grabbling with the fall out from passing these types of laws.

The lessons that Arizona are having to learn should provide ample evidence why other states should think twice about passing their own laws.