On June 25th, 2012, the United States Supreme Court decided upon the constitutionality of the anti-immigration laws enacted first by the state of Arizona and followed by other states, in the decision Arizona v. United States.

The court has struck down important provisions of the infamous law and has concluded that immigration law is (still) a federal law and thus any state law that interferes with the federal provisions in this area is unconstitutional.

They also determined that since immigration law is a federal law, it must be enforced by federal agencies. Therefore, it is unconstitutional and illegal for the local police to racially profile people or make stops based on their suspicion that the person might be “illegal.” Unless the police stop every car and verify the legal status of every person, they would not be able to prove the legality of any stops.

This decision represents a defeat of the anti-immigration state laws that have been enacted in the last year by several other states. Georgia had also enacted a law similar to Arizona’s in 2011.

Please call our office if you feel you have been racially profiled or unfairly asked for your immigration status 678-615-8529.