Coming quickly on the heels of the Supreme Court's ruling today in Arizona v. United States that struck down much of the Grand Canyon State's anti-illegal immigration law -- but upheld a crucial provision to check the immigration status of persons held in custody -- the Obama administration announced today that it is ending a program that deputizes local and state police officers to help enforce federal immigration law.
Reports FoxNews.com (emphasis mine):
States seeking to take immigration enforcement into their own hands are facing an uphill climb, after the Supreme Court struck down much of Arizona's disputed law and the Obama administration followed with a decision to rescind a key partnership that allowed local police to enforce federal immigration law.
The move by the administration further weakens efforts by Arizona, and potentially other states, to take the reins on immigration enforcement.
[...]
The program allows the feds to deputize local officials to carry out immigration law. According to a Department of Homeland Security official, the administration determined those agreements are "not useful" in states that have Arizona-style laws. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has since rescinded that agreement with Arizona -- with the state itself, and three local law enforcement agencies.
The move means that even if local police step up immigration checks, they'll have to rely on federal officials to make the arrests.
It remains to be seen how widely the liberal media will actually report this move by the Obama administration, which, coupled with last week's announcement of amnesty light-by-presidential fiat communicates an assertive stand by the Obama administration against enforcing the laws on the books against illegal immigration.
