Arizona's Immigration Law and the United States Constitution

In considering the current disagreement between the state government of Arizona and the federal government of the United States of America concerning Arizona's law on immigration, and the recent court hearing on the subject in which the plaintiff, the United States, claims its sovereignty on the issue based on Constitutional grounds, according to Article I, Section 8, which in part says the federal government is "To establish an uniform rule of naturalization...." If the court system continues to side with the United States, using Constitutional grounds, then Arizona would have to appeal to the respecters of the Constitution using another means.

Section 8 also states that the federal government, in particular the Congress, has the right "To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water...." For those unfamiliar with the term "marque" it refers to a contractual agreement between a government and its citizens, allowing them to attack foreign nations for actions which the foreign nation has performed against the native government and its citizens. Section 8 goes on to further describe the federal authority, again through the Congress, to maintain and manage the armed forces in general.

To further strengthen the jurisdiction of the federal government over these issues, section 10 of Article I states what limitations have been placed on the states, which deal with issues of economic and military value. Amongst the latter it restricts the states from issuing "letters of marque, reprisal," "keep troops, or ships of war, in time of peace" or to "engage in war...." However, there is a caveat which follows the states' restriction on engaging in war which says "unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay."

It would seem that this caveat would be applicable, particularly in Arizona, whose citizens are daily confronted by dangerous Mexican drug gangs, carrying automatic rifles and other weaponry, in order to transport illegal narcotics into the state from Mexico; and when doing so committing acts of violence against Arizona citizens, including the murder of a south Arizonan rancher. Another result of this invasion from the south by these Mexican criminal elements is the status which Arizona's capital, Phoenix, has acquired as the second most dangerous city in the world concerning kidnapping; following only Mexico City in the same form of danger. It would seem that if the state of Arizona cannot achieve its desire to defend itself against these foreign threats from the Mexican nation, due to the United States government enforcing its jurisdiction over "naturalization" (although enforcing little else concerning the matter) then its Constitutional alternative, as provided in Section 10, is to unite its citizens, using their second amendment right, and meeting the enemy at the door.