( CNN ) -- A month after defending the health care law , the Obama administration again confronted the buzz saw of skeptical Supreme Court justices on Wednesday -- this time on immigration . But come November , Republicans may very well be on the losing end of the argument . As has been widely reported , oral arguments regarding Arizona 's SB 1070 illegal immigration law began with an unusual interruption : Chief Justice John Roberts broke in during U.S . Solicitor General Donald Verrilli 's opening comments to ask assertively , `` No part of your argument has to do with racial or ethnic profiling , does it ? '' And , while it is difficult to predict how the justices will rule , Justice Sonia Sotomayor signaled the tough road ahead when she said of the administration 's argument , `` You can see it 's not selling very well . '' But in the court of public opinion , Arizona 's SB 1070 law has stirred the fastest-growing electorate in the nation : Latino voters , who made up 7.4 % of all voters in 2008 . Republicans are in serious trouble . Co-authored by one of Mitt Romney 's informal advisers , signed into law by Republican Gov . Jan Brewer , and touted by Romney endorsers , SB 1070 is the gum sticking to the presumptive nominee 's general election shoes . And President Obama knows it . In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine , Obama said , `` I do n't think that their nominee is going to be able to suddenly say , 'Everything I 've said for the last six months , I did n't mean . ' `` The mind-boggling part is that Romney knew branding himself as an anti-immigrant firebrand was going to present a problem in the general election . But instead of moderating his approach -- as Republican strategists implored -- he doubled down . Guided by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach , who is co-author of SB 1070 , Romney endorsed the concept of `` self-deportation '' of undocumented immigrants while trying to talk about the Latino community 's economic needs . He went even further by saying he would halt lawsuits against SB 1070 `` on day one '' of his presidency -- surely agitating thousands of Latino voters in Arizona in the process . No voter is going to listen to Romney 's economic message if he wants the voter 's mother to `` self-deport . '' Political common knowledge suggests the Republican candidate needs at least 40 % of the Latino vote in order to hang drapes at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue . In fact , Latino , Asian and other new immigrant voters may well provide the margin of victory in Arizona , Colorado , Nevada , Florida , North Carolina and Virginia . What 's a candidate for president to do ? Regardless of the Supreme Court 's decision , the Obama re-election campaign would like to believe SB 1070 opens the floodgates for the madre of all get-out-the-vote efforts . But leading an administration that has detained and deported a record 1.2 million people , the president has a trust deficit of his own . Obama needs to use the powers granted to the executive branch to fully implement new guidelines that prioritize immigration enforcement resources . The only way he can make up for Democrats ' inability to deliver immigration reform is to take decisive action and continue to deport people here illegally who mean to do us harm -- but stop deporting landscapers , nannies and their hardworking families . Clearly , Romney has the bigger challenge . He can not smile and nod his way out of this problem , as he tried to do at a recent meeting with Hispanics in the Phoenix area . To a former University of Arizona president 's question about the DREAM Act , Romney responded , `` Thank you . Appreciate it , thank you . '' To earn anywhere near a winning percentage of Latino votes , Romney must redirect citizens ' frustration with the broken immigration system away from SB 1070 and its copycats , and join Republicans such as Jeb Bush , John McCain and Lindsey Graham , all of whom have called for immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for the undocumented . For political cover , Romney can look to a growing alliance of conservative faith , business and law enforcement leaders working together across the country to forge a new consensus on immigrants and America . If Republicans fail to appreciate the anger and frustration of new American voters and their allies who want pragmatic immigration solutions , a different buzz saw -- one of electoral justice -- will decide their fate come November . And it will not be pretty . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ali Noorani .
GOP heard oral arguments about Arizona 's immigration law . Latino : Arizona 's law matters to the fastest growing electorate , Ali Noorani voters . He says it 's mind-boggling that GOP is still an anti-immigrant firebrand . Noorani : If GOP ca n't come up with smart immigration policy , it will suffer in fall election .