We have a right under international law to define out immigration policy, then enforce it as we see fit. Or, as Arizona claims, not enforce it causing the several States to step in.
Arizona cannot set policy, but it can enforce the policy that has been set by the Feds.
Personally, I think Arizona erred in its passage of 1070. The problem for Arizona is that it makes it a State crime to violate Federal policy, all it should do is say, "We are not going to tolerate sanctuary cities and sanctuary policies, and we will turn over any undocumented immigrant to ICE." Law enforcement is stuck between a rock and a hard place on this issue, particularly in sanctuary cities. Or counties. Maricopa County clearly does not have a sanctuary policy, but a neighboring county might. Should an illegal immigrant be treated differently in Maricopa County than he's treated in Pima County? I think not. I also think that if Arizona wants to permit or deny snactuary policies, then it has the right to do precisely that.
And if Mexicans and Central Americans are ensnared in the law, then so be it. If one of these people is allowed byu law to be here, he or she will have been issued a Green Card BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT that they are required to carry AT ALL TIMES. Arizona is not making that up, it's a law that is already on the books that immigrants are required to comply with. If a person of Mexican decent is a legal resident, he or she will have a command of english that a person straight out of Mexico or Central America will not possess, and this will help them avoid scrutiny of their status.
Mexico's assault on Arizona is disengenuous at best, and is actually outright bogus. Mexico has no problem throwing an American in prison if they decide he has been in Mexico illegally. They don't even need a trial.
I get that Arizona _could_ racially profile, but quite frankly, 98.5% of the illegal immigrants in Arizona fit the profile that would be used. I can't sue on what might happen to me, I have to wait until it happens and then sue. I say we wait for a person to make the charge they they were ensnared for no other reason than they fit a profile, and then hear the suit they bring. Surely the ACLU will be standing by to finance the suit. And when it is clear that the offender was doing 90 on the interstate (or in a school zone) and the cops pulled him over and he had no US Driver License, no Green Card, did not speak english, and had 5 people in the trunk of his car, there is reasonable suspicion that maybe he should be turned over to ICE.
I think that Mexico has absolutely no standing to bring a suit against Arizona, and the judge should throw it out.
If the Feds want to sue Arizona because they are creating a patchwork of enforcement, then it should also sue California for its sanctuary cities that shield illegals from Federal authorities. If we are going to go after a State for enforcing the law because it impedes the Feds from doing its job, then we should go after a state for refusing to enforce the law because when a State shields an immigrant from the Feds, clearly the Feds are impeded in their enforcement efforts.
A judge stepped in today and said that Arizona cannot implement 1070 starting tomorrow.