Obama could solve state-federal immigration disputes by enforcing the law

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo President Barack Obama

You may have read that a federal court has blocked parts of Alabama's anti-illegal-immigration law while various lawsuits are pending.

Among other things, the court said Alabama cannot enforce a part of the law forbidding illegal aliens to conduct business with the state. We cannot imagine why a state should be conducting formal business dealings with people who have no right to be in this country.

But set aside the particulars of Alabama's law or of the laws of other states that are trying to deal with the problems and costs created by illegal immigration.

Why are the states enacting those laws in the first place? It is because the federal government simply will not enforce laws against illegal immigration -- even though that is constitutionally a duty of the federal government.

That has left states with no choice but to take action against illegal immigration because of the massive costs it imposes on them in terms of providing social services to illegal aliens.

So we could avoid a great many of the disputes between the federal government and the states on this issue if only Washington would take seriously its job of enforcing the laws against illegal immigration.

But instead, the Obama administration has ordered the review of many illegal immigration cases and the potential release of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens back into our society.

Congress has authorized no such amnesty. But with the president undermining the rule of law, it should come as no surprise that states are doing what they must to protect themselves.