Supreme Court Kills Most of Arizona Immigration Law

The Supreme Court has struck down most of Arizona's controversial immigration law in a 5-3 decision, but left intact the so-called "check your papers" provision. The decision struck down the parts of the law that made it a crime for immigrants not to possess federal registration cards, made it a crime for illegal immigrants to apply for work, and that allowed the state to arrest people without a warrant if it had probable cause to believe they were illegal immigrants, USA Today reports.

The court did not strike down the controversial provision requiring police to check the immigration status of people arrested for other crimes, but it did leave the door open for future challenges to that provision. "On the net," it was "a significant win for the Obama administration," one SCOTUSBlog liveblogger concluded. "It got almost everything it wanted. Anthony Kennedy wrote the decision, and was joined by John Roberts, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor, according to the Tuscon Sentinel; Elena Kagan recused herself. (More US Supreme Court stories.)