In the early decades of the country there was a lot of discussion and angst among the various states over the power of the federal government. The United States was exactly that- a collection of independent states married together. It remains so, even though the identity and powers of the individual states has been watered down .
In those early decades there was a discussion of what was termed “Nullification”. I don’t want to get into the weeds, nullification is complicated political theory and the events leading to the attempted policy are far ranging, always coming back, in the end, to slavery.
The feds instituted a new tariff. This tariff helped the manufacturers in the north by limiting competitive goods from Europe. The increased costs hurt the agrarian South, who imported most of their commercial goods and exported their cotton, indigo, and rice.
John Calhoun and the South Carolina legislators decided they did not have to abide by the federal law and announced the tariff was null in void in South Carolina.
Andrew Jackson said “Like Hell,” eventually the next Congress reduced the tariff and the state backed down.
Nullification continued to raise its ugly head right up until the Civil War when it was settled for good.
Why am I going on about this?
No state has the right to decide they don’t like Federal Immigration laws and refuse to cooperate. The way to get rid of a federal law your state doesn’t like is to change the law.
Nullification is itself null and void and was settled in the 1830s..
That’s why politicians should study history.
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