AG Holder’s ignorance of the law is no excuse

After Arizona passed its new immigration law on April 23, 2010, Attorney General Eric Holder was in the vanguard of those condemning it.  No doubt it was his presumptively authoritative criticisms that informed, and perhaps even incited, many of the millions who soon took to the streets in protest.  In fact, Holder said on NBC’s Meet the Press only a week ago Sunday that the Arizona law “has the possibility of leading to racial profiling.”

This is why I was so utterly stupefied when he admitted in congressional testimony on Thursday that he had not read this contentious law:

I’ve just expressed concerns on the basis of what I’ve heard about the law. But I’m not in a position to say at this point, not having read the law, not having had the chance to interact with people are doing the review, exactly what my position is. 

(Holder testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Washington Times, May 13, 2010)

This admission must have come as a profound disappointment, if not embarrassment, to everyone – from President Obama in the White House to the illegal immigrant marching in the streets – who has voiced public opposition to it. Not to mention the currency it gave to supporters of this law, especially since they routinely dismissed its opponents as partisan hacks or impudent immigrants who didn’t know what the hell they were talking about.

As it happens, I was amongst those who condemned this immigration law when it was first enacted. But I did so because, having read it, I knew full well the disparate and discriminatory impact it would have on Hispanics; i.e., that they would be racially profiled.

This is why I was relatively pleased when Arizona legislators rushed on May 3 to enact several amendments to:

…make it crystal clear and undeniable that racial profiling is illegal, and will not be tolerated in Arizona.

(Governor Brewer after signing the bill of amendments on April 30, CNN, May 1, 2010)

But these amendments still do not address the inherent flaw in this legislation, which stems from this state’s attempt to preempt a power that the Constitution delegates to the federal government.  Specifically, Arizona’s attempt to enforce immigration law, no matter how amended to mirror federal law, is unconstitutional. This, notwithstanding its admittedly persuasive argument that it was only trying enforce a national law that the federal government is unwilling or unable to enforce.

In any event, these amendments only made Holder’s subsequent testimony on this matter all the more incomprehensible: first of all, if only to defend his political credibility, he should have said that his concerns were based on briefings by some of the best lawyers in the country who work for him at the Justice Department; and then he should have acknowledged Arizona’s attempt to cure the faults that gave rise to his initial criticisms – while maintaining that its law is  unconstitutional.

Instead, he just sat there squirming – with his self-righteousness competing with his ignorance over which was the greater cause for his humiliation – as some heretofore unknown congressman exposed the inherent contradiction, if not hypocrisy, in his criticism:

It’s hard for me to understand how you would have concerns about something being unconstitutional if you haven’t even read the law. 

(Republican Congressman Ted Poe of Texas, Washington Times, May 13, 2010)

Holder’s his ignorance of the law is no excuse for being so politically inept. He did a huge disservice to the Obama administration as well as to the cause of immigration reform.

But Obama has demonstrated a spineless inclination to allow officials who disappoint him to wither away over several months instead of firing them: Remember Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Desiree Rogers…?

Therefore, I fully expect that to be the case with Holder.  And, given his Hamletian dithering since last November over trying terror suspects in New York City, his absurd quibbling over whether it’s okay to say that the Muslim terrorist who tried to blow up Times Square might have been influenced by radical Islam, and now this, Holder seems due to wither away any day now. 

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