June 26, 2012
From the Charleston Post and Courier
Monday's closely watched court decision threw out several provisions of Arizona's law but let a much-debated portion go forward that South Carolina's law strongly resembles. The “show me your papers” requirement allows police to check the status of people stopped for various reasons and who appear to be in the U.S. illegally.
Gov. Nikki Haley said that “Today's court ruling is in part good news for South Carolina law enforcement. Now, they can do their job and verify that those suspected of being here illegally are actually here legally.”
Even with the Arizona ruling, South Carolina's immigration law is far from taking effect. In December, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel issued a preliminary injunction preventing parts of the state's law from taking effect. The move came after the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state, saying immigration is a federal issue.
That suit is on hold in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., and action there is probably weeks away. When it does resume, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson said he will petition the court to lift the stay on the police checks, saying that since it survived the high court, enforcement should be allowed.
Monday's decision did not fully clear the way for “show me your papers” checks to become the accepted legal norm since the justices said the provision could still be subject to additional constitutional challenges. Top among those possibilities is that once enacted by a police department, it could lead to racial profiling — something that South Carolina opponents contend can lead to harassment of the law-abiding.
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, has also sued the state. Executive Director Victoria Middleton said courts would be “out of touch by not recognizing that there is no way to implement (the provision) without violating people's rights and inviting racial profiling.”
The issue has drawn concerns from police, including North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt, who Monday reiterated his fears that the state is looking to drop an enforcement role on police officers and departments not trained in federal immigration law. “We have had little guidance from the state on how we will fulfill our duty with the new state law,” he said.
Charleston School of Law adjunct professor Jonathan Hoffman said it might be too early to decide if the “show me” provision will survive. He said it appears the court is willing to wait and see if there is racial stereotyping behind how the effort is enacted by departments.