Spitzer and Melber Discuss Arizona’s Immigration Law

Spitzer and Melber Discuss Arizona’s Immigration Law

Spitzer and Melber Discuss Arizona’s Immigration Law

Ari Melber debates the legality of SB 1070 with Eliot Spitzer, guest-host of The Dylan Ratigan Show.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Guest-host Eliot Spitzer takes over The Dylan Ratigan Show and invites Ari Melber, Net Movement Correspondent for The Nation, and Chris Stirewalt, Political Editor of the Washington Examiner, to the show to talk about the legal battle over Arizona’s controversial immigration law. While Obama recently visited Mexican President Felipe Calderon and is reportedly considering sending National Guard troops to secure the border, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against SB 1070 and Janet Napolitano—former Arizona Governor and now the Secretary of Homeland Security—told John McCain at a Senate hearing, “that’s not the kind of law I would have signed.”

Spitzer asks Melber to explain what possible legal challenge there could be against Arizona’s new immigration law. Melber argues that this is more about how the law is implemented than how it’s drafted. “There are ways that people can argue that as applied this does not in fact discriminate on race and then you get into different policy questions,” Melber explains. “Most opponents say this is bad policy even if it were found constitutional.”

—Morgan Ashenfelter

Support independent journalism that does not fall in line

Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more. 

But this journalism is possible only with your support.

This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?

Ad Policy
x