Stuart Taylor, Jr. and Imus Have Brilliant Idea for Government Reform

The Obama administration decided this week to sue the state of Arizona about the controversial immigration law they passed a few months ago, claiming the law is unconstitutional. But calling the law “pernicious,” as the New York Times did in an today’s editorial section, is “overheated hysteria,” said Stuart Taylor, Jr.

“I tend to agree that the law has got problems, and it’s troublesome, and it may be unconstitutional,” said Taylor, a contributing editor at Newsweek and National Journal. “I think it’s going to be a close call how the courts handle it. But it’s also a law where you can certainly understand why the people of Arizona think it’s a good idea. They’re being overrun by illegal immigrants.”

The federal government’s inaction on immigration reform had moved Arizona to act in the first place, though critics worry that the law, which has not yet gone into effect, will result in widespread racial profiling.

“They allude to that,” Taylor said of Obama’s lawsuit. “But what they focus on is the supposed interference with the comprehensive federal immigration enforcement scheme, and also foreign affairs.”

Meaning, Taylor continued, “a lot of Mexican officials, up to and including the President, are very angry about this law.”

Though the law “bans” racial profiling, and Arizona claims it is training police on how not to do it, administration officials have expressed concern that the law will actually make racial profiling a whole lot worse.

“There’s a case to be made for waiting and seeing how the law plays out before the federal government jumps in with the heavy hand of a lawsuit against a state, which is a very unusual thing,” said Taylor, doubtful this is “good politics” for Obama.

Yet according to Taylor, Obama and his team could have prevented the law from being enforced sans a lawsuit that, in the eyes of many, wastes a lot of money.

“They can just send out orders to the immigration authorities not to cooperate with Arizona in enforcing this law, not to follow up on referrals from Arizona,” Taylor explained, adding that the administration does not need the courts to prevent Arizona from wasting federal resources. “They can prevent it themselves if they want.”

“That’s a novel idea,” Imus chimed in. “The government could stop wasting money!”

-Julie Kanfer