Supreme Court Reviews Arizona Immigration Law

The United States Supreme Court heard arguments on Arizona’s controversial immigration law on Wednesday. Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters rallied in the capitol, in Phoenix, and in other American cities.

The law is designed to counter the flood of illegal immigrants into Arizona, and requires police to verify the citizenship of people they stop. However, many of the law’s critics say it encourages unfair ethnic stereotyping and racial profiling. They say that if the Supreme Court validates the law, it will only frighten millions of immigrants and increase tensions in areas with high Hispanic populations.

The Obama administration is also challenging the law, saying it conflicts with federal immigration policy. The administration says its approach to immigration is to balance national security, law enforcement, foreign policy and human rights.

Supporters, on the other hand, say the federal government’s failure to deal with 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. means that states have the right to protect themselves with such laws.

Supreme Court justices said the fundamental issue is state versus federal power, and indicated that they would allow Arizona to enforce most if not all of the law. The court will not issue its final decision until late June. Such an outcome could turn up the heat on America’s climate of steadily worsening racial tensions, making this summer a hot one.