That’s not what was argued. “The hard way” refers to institutional difficulty, not illegality — specifically, enforcing federal law in the face of state non-compliance and sanctuary policies.

Difficulty does not equal unconstitutionality.

If you think the measures required violate specific constitutional provisions or civil-rights protections, name them and explain how. Otherwise this is a moral reframe that clumsily sidesteps concrete claims about enforcement feasibility and changed conditions.