Scalia, a Reagan appointee, wrote in his dissent. "Perhaps it is, though Arizona may not think so. But to say, as the Court does, that Arizona contradicts federal law by enforc*ing applications of the Immigration Act that the President declines to enforce boggles the mind."
Later, he added: "What I do fear—and what Arizona and the States that support it fear—is that 'federal policies' of nonen*forcement will leave the States helpless before those evil effects of illegal immigration."
The federal government "does not want to enforce the immigration laws as written, and leaves the States' borders unprotected against immigrants whom those laws would exclude," Scalia alleged.
"Must Arizona's ability to protect its borders yield to the reality that Congress has provided inadequate funding for federal enforcement—or, even worse, to the executive's unwise targeting of that funding?" Scalia asked. Later, he added: "What I do fear—and what Arizona and the States that support it fear—is that 'federal policies' of nonen*forcement will leave the States helpless before those evil effects of illegal immigration."