Supreme Court Justices: Arizona Immigration Laws "May Not Undermine Federal Laws"

Working or seeking for jobs as an illegal immigrant will not be a penalized as a crime anymore in Arizona as the U.S. Supreme court decided to strike down key parts of the state's controversial immigration law on Monday.

Two other laws that were also nullified by the justices include:

-The authorizing of state and local officers to arrest people without a warrant based on suspicion over a person is believed to be an illegal immigrant

-The making it a state requirement for immigrants to register with the federal government.

With the ruling, the Supreme Court basically concludes that the U.S Federal Government possesses the power to regulate laws related to immigration.

"The national government has significant power to regulate immigration. Arizona may have understandable frustrations with the problems caused by illegal immigration while that process continues, but the state may not pursue policies that undermined federal law," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in a statement.

However, a key part of the immigration law known as the SB1070 was held by the panel of justices.

The justices upheld the law allowing the police to check an individual's immigration status while enforcing other laws if "reasonable suspicion" existed to believe that the person is an undocumented immigrant. Tentatively, this means that it'll be illegal for police forces to detain people and request immigration documents if these have not committed any infractions before state and federal laws. If the laws are broken however, the police have the right to proceed.

The ruling still awaits a more detailed interpretation of the laws and until then, Justice Kennedy wrote:

"There is a basic uncertainty about what the law means and how it will be enforced. At this stage, without the benefit of a definitive interpretation from state courts, it would be inappropriate to assume (the provision) will be construed in a way that creates a conflict with federal law."

To read the complete text of the ruling click here.