The explosive issue of immigration is poised to creep back into the Republican primary battle as the candidates prepare to barnstorm South Carolina, one of a handful of states being sued by the federal government for their illegal immigration crackdowns.

While the issue played second fiddle to concerns like jobs and foreign policy in the prior two contests, voters in South Carolina are likely more attuned, given the high-profile lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department.

"That's very much an important issue in South Carolina," said Van Hipp Jr., former chairman of the South Carolina GOP and current chairman of the advocacy group Americans for Securing the Border.

Mitt Romney is charging into the state with arguably the most aggressive message, praising the state's immigration law while trumpeting his own bona fides on the issue. read more »

The Supreme Court announced Monday it will take the case of Arizona’s tough immigration crackdown law, adding yet another contentious clash between the Obama administration and the states to its docket.

The case, which has attracted national attention, pits Arizona against the Obama administration, which sued and won court orders blocking implementation of most of the law at both the district and appeals court levels. Arizona’s law spawned a host of copycat laws in other states, and most of them have likewise seen their key provisions blocked by court challenges from the administration.

At stake is Arizona’s goal of granting state and local police the power to check the immigration status of persons they encounter during their duties, such as traffic stops. read more »

A border enforcement advocate does not believe an attempt to recall the sponsor of Arizona's controversial immigration bill will succeed.

Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce's (R) opponents have collected more than 10,000 voter signatures, which is far more than the 7,756 needed for a recall election. The secretary of state's office has officially put the issue on the November ballot, but Gov. Jan Brewer (R) still must call for the special election.

Pearce is being targeted for sponsoring the 2010 enforcement law known as S.B. 1070, which was designed to help local law enforcement agencies enforce already existing federal immigration statutes. But a judge has placed key provisions of that measure on hold while it is challenged in court by illegal alien rights activists...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has sustained Arizona's law that penalizes businesses for hiring workers who are in the United States illegally, rejecting arguments that states have no role in immigration matters.

By a 5-3 vote, the court said Thursday that federal immigration law gives states the authority to impose sanctions on employers who hire unauthorized workers.

The decision upholding the validity of the 2007 law comes as the state is appealing a ruling that blocked key components of a second, more controversial Arizona immigration enforcement law. Thursday's decision applies only to business licenses and does not signal how the high court might rule if the other law comes before it...

A coalition of sheriffs dedicated to defending the border from the illegal alien intrusion says a recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit is "judicially imposed amnesty."

The Ninth Circuit Panel recently voted 2-1 to uphold a lower court's decision to gut the law enforcement provisions of Arizona S.B. 1070 that were designed to help state and local law enforcement officers better enforce federal immigration laws. The constitutionality of those aspects was challenged by the Obama administration shortly after the state's governor signed the measure into law.

"The court basically said that Obama administration policy trumps state law," reports Larry Dever, fourth-term sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona and honorary co-chair of the Southwest Border Sheriff's Project. "There is in the Constitution a superiority clause that says federal law can trump state law under certain conditions. But we're not talking about federal law here; we're talking about federal policy trumping state law"...

PHOENIX (AP) — A federal appeals court on Monday refused to lift a stay blocking major parts of a tough Arizona law targeting illegal immigrants from taking effect.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday turned down an appeal filed by Gov. Jan Brewer. Mrs. Brewer, a Republican, asked the court to lift an injunction imposed by a federal judge in Phoenix the day before the law was to take effect on July 29, 2010.

The U.S Justice Department sued to block the law. It argued it violates the U.S. Constitution because enforcing immigration law is a federal issue...

Supporters of school choice are celebrating a huge victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in a case involving an Arizona scholarship program.

America's high court voted 5-4 Monday afternoon to dismiss a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union against an Arizona program that promotes school choice. The program, like others across the country, allows state residents to claim a tax credit for donations to private organizations that provide scholarships to religious and other private schools. In Arizona's case, taxpayers can direct up to $500 they would have paid in state income taxes to fund those scholarships...

PHOENIX -- Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she plans to file a counter-lawsuit against the federal government for failing to enforce immigration laws.

Brewer says her claim will be filed in the federal government's challenge to Arizona's new enforcement immigration law.

The governor says the federal government hasn't secured the state's border with Mexico and stuck Arizona with the costs tied to illegal immigration...

Three-term Sen. Jon Kyl will announce his retirement at a noon ET news conference Thursday in Phoenix, two Republican sources confirmed to Fox News.

The Arizona lawmaker, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, will be the fifth senator scheduled for re-election next year to announce a departure from Congress in 2012.

Kyl, 68, served four terms in the House before winning a Senate seat. In 2006, he was named one of the 10 best senators by Time Magazine...

The wave of national soul-searching about the level of political vitriol and how it might have played a part in Saturday's shootings in Tucson, Ariz., now appears to be ebbing.

Following the shooting, which left six people dead and apparently targeted Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) of Arizona, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik suggested that "vitriol ... about tearing down the government" might have played a part. Rep. Robert Brady (D) of Pennsylvania has followed that lead, promising a bill that would outlaw threatening language against lawmakers.

But emerging information about primary suspect Jared Loughner suggests that he was motivated not by a climate of hate but rather by his own troubled mind and a personal vendetta against Congresswoman Giffords, who was injured in the attack. The investigation has not concluded, and more information could come to light. read more »