"The recent tensions between local authorities in Minnesota and the immigration enforcement agencies of the Trump administration, particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), are not merely the stance of rebellious cities or states. They are the latest manifestation of a dispute as old as the nation itself: the resistance of local power against a federal center that periodically attempts to govern by imposition. To interpret what is happening today in Minneapolis and its consequences as an isolated episode of immigration policy is to remain on the surface."
"The next conflict emerged a decade later. In 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts, passed amid fears of war with France and internal unrest, significantly expanded federal power to persecute foreigners and silence dissent. The reaction from several states was swift and decisive. Virginia and Kentucky argued that they were not obligated to enforce federal laws they deemed unconstitutional."
"The experiment failed due to fiscal insolvency, disputes between the states, and an inability to guarantee basic order. The Constitution of 1787 strengthened central power, maintaining a counterbalance in the power of the former colonies, now states. Since then, internal frictions rather than a failure of the system have served as a tense balancing mechanism."
Clashes in Minneapolis between local officials and federal immigration agencies stem from long-standing tensions within American federalism over regional autonomy versus central executive power. The nation’s founding reacted against distant monarchical authority and favored decentralized governance, producing the Articles of Confederation and later a Constitution that strengthened the center while preserving state counterbalances. Historical episodes such as the Alien and Sedition Acts prompted state resistance and doctrines of non-enforcement of federal laws deemed unconstitutional. Recurring internal frictions have operated as a balancing mechanism between state and federal power rather than evidence of systemic collapse.
Read at english.elpais.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]