The Supreme Court ruled on Arizona’s Immigration law and conservatives are calling it a huge win for them…and Democrats are also calling it a victory.  I think it’s a split win leaning toward Democrats.

The Court ruled, 8-0, that Arizona can ask for papers.  Actually, the Arizona law says it “requires” officers to ask for papers of anyone they pull over.  The problem with that is that some cops will pull people over for being brown.  “Nuh-Uh” you may retort.  Cops are ethical creatures.  Just like that one in Arizona that wants to send a “posse” to Hawaii to prove that Obama was not born in America.

This decision is not a huge win for Arizona.  Justice Stephen Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that they didn’t want to strike it down until it first went through lower courts.  This thing can still be killed.  There will eventually be a lawsuit over someone being pulled over and profiled and Arizona will have a hard time keeping this one on the books.

The Supreme Court struck down three parts of the law, which means Obama is three for four and Jan Brewer is one for four.  They struck down:  Provisions required immigrants to carry immigration papers at all times, banned illegal immigrants from soliciting work in public places, and allowed police arrests of immigrants without warrants if officers believed they committed crimes that would make them deportable.

So cops in Arizona can ask for papers, but they can’t actually hold anyone for it.

I don’t think police should ask anyone for proof they’re in this country illegally, unless they’re arrested on another offense.  While in jail, police always check background, arrest records, etc. and they can include a check on their immigration status.  If they’re found not to be in this country legally, they turn them over to the federal government after the state or local government is done charging, prosecuting, trying and, if warranted, punishing them for whatever crime they were picked up on.  But stopping people based upon their skin color will make Arizona a police state.

My editor didn’t understand this cartoon.  He said what I was saying was Arizona was going to profile and he didn’t understand that.  I pointed out that he just understood it.  He told me to get a few more opinions and five out of five people understood it.  He agreed to let me run a cartoon he didn’t understand.  I told him that was very white of him.

I based the drawing of the Latino in this cartoon on my favorite Mexican cartoonist.  Heck, he might be my all-time favorite cartoonist.  Sergio Aragones.  I’ve been a huge fan of Mr. Aragones since I was a kid.  From his work with Mad Magazine and his own comic book, the man is always funny, brilliant and seems to display a true love of cartooning.  His cartoons are insane and totally off the wall.  Plus, his style is very simple like mine.

I based the caricature of Jan Brewer on Skeletor

Here’s the rough and a few others.

This is my first idea which my editor just grunted at.  For some reason my scanner decided to start making everything gray.

I hated this idea.  I didn’t show it to my editor because I was afraid he would love it.

And I kinda liked this last one, but I was afraid no one would get it.