Arizona v. United States

E4583

Arizona v. United States is a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case that limited state authority over immigration enforcement by affirming broad federal power in this area.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
federal court case
areaOfLaw administrative law
constitutional law
arguedDate 2012-04-25
citation 567 U.S. 387
concurrenceInPartAndDissentInPartBy Antonin Scalia
Clarence Thomas
Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
constitutionalProvisionInvolved Article VI of the United States Constitution
Supremacy Clause
country United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 2012-06-25
docketNumber 11-182
fullName Arizona v. United States
holding Federal law preempts several provisions of Arizona S.B. 1070 regulating immigration enforcement.
Section 2(B) of S.B. 1070, requiring officers to make a reasonable attempt to determine immigration status during lawful stops, is not facially preempted.
Section 3 of S.B. 1070, creating a state crime for failure to carry federal registration documents, is preempted.
Section 5(C) of S.B. 1070, criminalizing unauthorized aliens seeking or engaging in work, is preempted.
Section 6 of S.B. 1070, authorizing warrantless arrests based on possible removability, is preempted.
States may not enact or enforce immigration policies that conflict with federal immigration law.
impact Limited state authority to create independent immigration enforcement schemes.
Reinforced federal primacy in immigration enforcement policy.
joinedMajority John G. Roberts, Jr.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Sonia Sotomayor
Stephen G. Breyer
jurisdiction United States
justiceNotParticipating Elena Kagan
keyPrinciple State laws are preempted when they conflict with the federal regulatory scheme on immigration.
The federal government has broad, dominant authority over immigration and alien status.
legalSubject federal preemption
federalism
immigration law
lowerCourtDisposition Affirmed in part and reversed in part
majorityOpinionBy Anthony M. Kennedy
originatingCourt United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
petitioner State of Arizona
popularNameOfLawAtIssue Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
relatedCase De Canas v. Bica
Hines v. Davidowitz
relatedConcept conflict preemption
field preemption
reporter United States Reports
respondent United States
stateLawAtIssue Arizona Senate Bill 1070
volume 567
vote 5-3
yearDecided 2012


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