By Art Holliday
St. Louis (KSDK) - We wanted to put a little perspective on the ongoing fight about immigration.
It was a law signed in April 2010 in Arizona and from the moment pen met the paper, protests began.
Arizona law SB-1070 seemed Supreme Court bound even before Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed it on April 23, 2010.
The sweeping law aimed at curbing illegal immigration in the state sparked protests, boycotts, and demonstrations nationwide, with opponents saying the law amounted to racial profiling.
Among its provisions is a requirement that local law enforcement checks immigration status if there's "reasonable suspicion" a person could be here illegally.
President Obama criticized Arizona's actions calling instead for a comprehensive national plan.
"What I think is a mistake is when we start having local law enforcement officials empowered to stop people on suspicion that they may be undocumented workers," said Obama.
A lower court kept the law from taking full effect, and on April 25, 2012, debate arrived at the Supreme Court. The protests moved east too.
Arguing for the Obama Administration, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli said immigration issues are the federal government's domain and state interference could make problems worse.
For the state of Arizona, Attorney Paul Clement argued the federal government hasn't controlled the problem of illegal immigration and states should have the ability to enforce their own laws.
Other states have been following developments closely with the immigration and states should have the ability to enforce their own laws.
Other states have been following developments closely with their immigration laws potentially on the line. Arizona's was the first to reach the Supreme Court.
Even though the Court upheld the "show your papers" part of the law, the court says that particular section could face more legal challenges.
The Court said it's hard to gauge the impact of that section before it goes into law, and the ruling won't and shouldn't stop other lawsuits in the future.
KSDK