Jan Brewer Declares Victory In Supreme Court Case On Arizona Immigration Law

Brewer Claims Early Supreme Court Victory

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer declared an early victory in the Supreme Court for her state's controversial immigration law, saying Wednesday's court hearing had gone well for supporters of the so-called SB 1070 law.

"If there's such a thing, Greta, as a good day in court, I think today was that day," Brewer told Fox News' Greta Van Susteren Wednesday night, adding that the state was "victorious." The Republican governor said the Supreme Court hearing showed the public what the law, which requires immigrants to carry documentation at all times, is "all about."

"It was very clear that it was not about racial profiling or bigotry or ethnic claims," Brewer said. "It was about the rule of law. It was so clear."

As HuffPost's Mike Sacks reported earlier Wednesday, a majority of the Supreme Court justices appeared to favor Arizona. The justices focused less on the racially-charged aspects of the law that are at the root of its notoriety:

The heated controversy over Arizona's law has been driven largely by critics' view that the law was borne of anti-Hispanic prejudice and invites racial profiling -- despite language in the law prohibiting such practices. But Wednesday's case concerned the more technical doctrine of federal preemption of state laws, which is based on the Constitution's supremacy clause. Indeed, at the start of Verrilli's argument, Roberts announced that "no part of your argument has to do with racial or ethnic profiling."

Brewer said that she was most nervous about Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the swing vote on a court that frequently divides along ideological lines.

"He's always been on both sides of the issue," Brewer said, while noting that some of his questions and comments seemed "very, very positive" towards Arizona's law.

The Supreme Court is expected to release its opinion in the case in June.

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