After a series of tariff bills passed through Congress in the 1820s and 1830s, South Carolina had had enough. Declaring the tariffs unconstitutional, the state refused to enforce them. Other states were also not keen on the tariffs and watched carefully to see if they should adopt the nullification position. President Jackson was not amused and made preparations to enforce federal law by calling up the military and stationing ships in South Carolina harbors to collect tariffs. South Carolina threatened secession and assembled an army. A civil war was brewing. Thankfully, Congress passed a compromise tariff that saved face for both parties and the crisis was averted.
Today, throughout the country, there are polities that refuse to obey immigration law. The sanctuary cities have shielded people who are illegally in the country. Immigration and border control is a federal responsibility. The Supreme Court struck down Arizona's attempt to enforce immigration law because such would usurp federal authority. The ruling made it abundantly clear that the federal government has primacy in immigration enforcement, even when it chooses not to enforce laws to the detriment of the states. Thanks to the lax enforcement of existing law by previous administrations, the nullification practiced by sanctuary cities has resulted in no pushback. That has changed.
President Trump requires no legislation from Congress to dramatically change the landscape. Sanctuary cities have been illegal all along. ICE needs no additional laws to start making arrests. They are called illegal immigrants for cause. Likewise, the law for Trump's border wall was passed in 2006. Senators Biden, Clinton, and Obama all voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act that George W. Bush signed. The infrastructure to enforce the borders has been in place for years but the executive will to do so only arrived last Friday.
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