Federalism Intergovernmental Relations Free Essay Example, 1500 words

It is for this reason that Congress has control over all issues related to immigration and the executive has the authority to ensure that all immigration laws passed by Congress are enforced. 1 The latter has been a most controversial issue between the state and federal governments because of the fact that the latter has been given more authority to deal with matters concerning immigration than the state governments. This battle for supremacy over the immigration policy has been taken all the way to the Supreme Court which has often ruled in favor of the federal government. Moreover, those states which have attempted to pass legislation aimed at singling out immigrants have more often than not been overruled by the Supreme Court; this being in addition to its quoting the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution which has been interpreted to mean that federal laws override state laws. Despite this, the supremacy clause is not active on those matters concerning immigration that are consti tutionally left to the states. Because of this, many states have passed laws which have placed limits on the access that immigrants can have to public facilities within these states. 2 Moreover, some states have made it mandatory for the police to check for the legal status of residence of the people that they arrest among other regulations and directives that have come to have a direct impact on immigrants. We will write a custom essay sample on Federalism & Intergovernmental Relations or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Most of the laws that are meant to regulate immigration that have been passed by various states have been justified by state legislatures which state that the federal laws that have been put in place lack the clout needed to enforce them at the state level. Moreover, they cite the need to ensure that the limited state resources are protected from uncontrolled immigration because to do otherwise would mean putting a strain on the budgets of the states affected. Most of the state laws concerning immigration that have been passed have also cited the need to curb insecurity as a reason for the strict enforcement of immigration control within their borders since there has developed the belief that most of the crime that is committed is by those illegal immigrants who are unemployed. While this may be the case, questions are still being asked about whether the state laws concerning immigration are constitutional or not. This is mainly because of the fact that while many lawmakers in these states have shown a genuine desire to limit illegal immigration, there are no clear guidelines to show where the authority of the federal government ends and that of the state governments begins.