The following story appeared in FAIR’s April 2 Legislative Update. To subscribe to FAIR’s Legislative Update click here.
Last week, the State of California and several other states, filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court urging the Court to strike down Arizona’s immigration enforcement law, SB 1070. (California Amicus Brief) The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the Obama Administration’s challenge to SB 1070 April 25th and in anticipation, dozens of interested parties, organizations, and even foreign governments have filed briefs both in support and opposition to the law. The other states joining California in the amicus brief are New York, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
The core of California’s objection to SB 1070 rests on the notion that through SB 1070, Arizona has impermissibly adopted its own removal policy — a power CA argues is “exclusively [a] federal function.” (CA Brief at 3) While states have no authority to remove (deport) illegal aliens (nor is the state of Arizona claiming such authority), California argues that the enforcement activities Arizona is encouraging through SB 1070 – the identification, apprehension, and detention of illegal aliens – are by definition part of the removal process. Thus, Arizona has adopted its own “removal policy.”
California then argues that Arizona’s removal policy, as embodied by SB 1070, is impermissible because it conflicts with the federal removal “scheme.” (Id.) Federal law, California asserts, has long recognized that immigration enforcement has “uniquely devastating effects” on “people who are otherwise law abiding and productive members of society.” (Id.) Describing SB 1070 an “overzealous and indiscriminate attempt” to enforce the law, California argues that Arizona’s law conflicts with “federal removal policy” in two ways. (CA Brief at 3, 9). First, California claims that SB 1070 requires state and local officers to engage in the arrest and detention of illegal aliens without any federal oversight. Second, California argues that SB 1070 supplants the Executive Branch’s discretion over the administration of the removal process and thus “interferes with the achievement of the federal priorities Congress has set.” (CA Brief at 3-4) California then concludes that because SB 1070 conflicts with this federal removal scheme, it is preempted by federal law.
Through this argument, however, California ignores the simple fact that nothing in SB 1070 supplants the authority of the federal government to decide whether to remove an illegal alien. To the contrary, SB 1070 merely requires Arizona officers to verify immigration status in certain circumstances and report it to the federal government. The law also creates state offenses that mirror already existing federal laws.
California’s argument also ignores that numerous federal statutes actually authorize and encourage local officers to identify, apprehend, and detain illegal aliens. For example, Section 1373(c) of the United States Code requires that the federal government respond to all local inquiries about immigration status. Section 1373(a)-(b) prohibits laws that interfere with the sharing of immigration data between local governments and the federal government. And, Section 1357(g)(10) provides that local law enforcement does not need to enter into an agreement with the federal government to cooperate in the enforcement of immigration laws. (See also INA § 287(g)(10))
In addition, California ignores that the Administration itself will soon require all jurisdictions – through the implementation of Secure Communities – to identify illegal aliens booked at jails (before conviction). And, through regulations, the Administration also requires that local jurisdictions detain illegal aliens if federal immigration officers place a hold on them (called a detainer). (See 8 C.F.R. 287.7(d))
Finally, California’s argument ignores a plethora of case law that confirms that state and local authorities have the inherent or general enforcement authority to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws. See e.g. United States v. Salinas-Calderon (10th Cir. 1982); United States v. Vasquez-Alvarez (10th Cir. 1999).
SB 1070 therefore does nothing more than further Congressional intent that local jurisdictions participate in the identification, apprehension, and detention of illegal aliens. Moreover, because Congress has encouraged, and in some cases required, local jurisdictions to engage in these activities, California cannot reasonably argue that they are equal to the removal of illegal aliens — a power Congress has reserved for the federal government.
California is a liberal state that has historically always taken the opposite position of what the federal law states. The simple fact is that the illegals that are over here are here in an active felony status…..They are ILLEGAL!!!!!!! This is not my opinion, this is the written letter of the law!! Why is there always a debate here!? Another fact is that this illegal problem is costing Legal Americans way to much money!! Who is protecting us?? Apparently none of these liberals have ever had their children’s lives destroyed because of identity theft from an illegal. Great feedback here, thanks. http://kidsandidtheft.eu.pn/
The USA should be divided into separate parts because there is NO UNITY in America. Every group in each parts of the USA is narrowed down to group agendas with their own lobbyists and influenbce. You cannot get a consensus for what is best for the country. Accordingly each separate part can be loosley connected by a weak central government only responsible for Defense and whats left of the US Postal System while each separate part can legislate what their interests dictate. The America that we all know is gone. Entitlements are subverting values and control of the USA to elitists who dole out the couch potato checks. Liberalism is reduced to a mental disorder.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, MITT ROMNEY & UNFUNDED MANDATES.
For many years Americans have been financially haunted by unfunded mandates, forced on them by the courts–taxed into paying for illegal aliens who managed to slip through the border or travel on an international jet with no intentions in returning to their country of birth. The most expensive payout is illegal females who are carrying a fetus within her womb, who know if they reach American soil they will get free delivery, post natal care and every conceivable extra that should be the exclusive rights of birthright and naturalized citizens.
The fourteenth amendment has been overreached by the courts and as there is very little chance of changing the law. But the American voters can at least alter the statute, which grants only immediate citizenship to a newborn infant of where at least one family member has actual citizenship status. The “foothold” baby is probably the most expensive unfunded mandated law, which states have to pour out their pockets from U.S. taxpayers. Billions dollars could be saved from bringing commonsense to this section of the law, by passing an amendment. The majority of European nations have passed laws, which are designed to change this insane law we are held accountable too?
I assume that Presidential contender Mitt Romney is aware that illegal immigration is causing fiscal suffering specifically to the working class Americans. Romney also better understand he needs to gain the trust of the TEA PARTY and the women voters. American citizens and legal resident females have no such escape from aggressive debt collectors, while illegal pregnant foreigners are not subject to paying their bills and walk away with no claim. That is why many hospitals in the border states of California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico have been forced to close their doors, because of unpaid fees. This is why many states are on the edge of bankruptcy, because they cannot arise from the red ink the federal government has created. Same with the children of illegal aliens by the millions that have registered, which have drained our school budgets and so teachers are forced by shortage of educational materials, to buy them for their classes.
This is a new alliance that not just the Republicans, but disheartened Democrats, Liberals, Independents and other party members. The TEA PARTY is sustaining its growing numbers into the millions, who are frustrated with the reluctance of the main leaders in considering the illegal alien explosive growth and the costs of support.
NumbersUSA, a non-profit organization whose dedication is to lower immigration and enforcement of immigration laws, that unless them two parties start by securing the border and have remained inert to increasingly alarmed public of their deteriorating quality of life due to sprawl, congestion, overcrowded schools, lost open spaces and increasing restrictions on their individual liberty caused by the new population explosion! Stop this travesty that is being deliberately bypassed by the Senate and House. Close all the loopholes in the law, which is pandering to the illegal alien invaders.
To learn more about the Obama Socialist agenda, illegal alien invasion and many other social issues, the observer should go to “American Patrol” for in-depth daily articles and reports that should be assessed by all readers. On this website you will find the true facts and not lies, that is distributed by the National Liberal media. A few of today’s subjects are:
World News daily: Obama eyes rebuilding business – in AFRICA!
Jim Kouri, CPP — The Examiner: Lawmaker: White House bends immigration laws
Dave Gibson — The Examiner: India now trying to dictate terms of H1B Visa program
WJLA-TV — Washington: Usual suspects whine about deporting criminal illegal’s
Dave Gibson — The Examiner: Deportable illegal aliens now getting free dental care
New America Media: California immigration ballot initiative hit from left, right
Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times Free Press: Immigrants experiencing quicker job growth than native-born Americans
Cynthia E. Ayers — Family Security Matters: How the enemy uses political correctness to divide and conquer America
Michelle Malkin — Family Security Matters: Don’t do business with progressive appeasers
Kevin McGinty — Topeka Capital-Journal : Eric Holder: There’s no such thing as voter fraud…
Punish the Politicians, Governors, Mayors and the whole mix of elected officials that are harboring foreign nationals, who have implemented Sanctuary cities ordinances, who have driven policies of Dream Acts, Chain migration and other catastrophic Comprehensive Reform packages. Even citizen voting privileges are not safe anymore, from groups like ACORN involved with voter fraud. The U.S. citizenry must step forward and adjoin with the TEA PARTY “THE PEOPLE’S PARTY” to stop the erosion of legal rights, which are being reduced by this administration. Both parties have abused immigration enforcement, by neglecting the fence and the incompetence of acknowledging that ID theft is out of control, that every foreign worker is committing a felony by using U.S. victim’s Social security number and identity in the majority of cases. The illegal alien occupation are racking up over a $100 Billion dollars a year, with no end in sight. Additionally, illegal foreign workers are estimated to wire over $40 Billion dollars annually outside this country to foreign banks.
SB 1070 and laws passed in other states violate the Obama administration’s criminals-only enforcement policy. The arguments about rights and federal purview in advance of April 25 are just a distraction from the fact that the president failed to deliver an amnesty bill, circumvented Congress by shifting the enforcement emphasis, and has to find a way to shut down state initiatives that anger supporters. If the court was to uphold SB 1070 and Arizona began to deliver illegals to federal authorities what would happen? They would probably be released pending further action, just like we released hordes of criminal illegals.
Back in the 60′s the drug culture started big time in CA. Since then they have continued to have mentally defective children that vote for the screwbal laws that you have and idiot elected officials. You can continue to coddle your illegal aliens there in Northern Tijuana, and we will continue to fight them here in Arizona. We don’t need the overpopulation and crime here. You can have it all to yourselves. We have a balanced budget. It won’t be long before banks will stop accepting checks issued by the bankrupt state of CA.Who would you borrow from, Mexico? Just wait till e-verify passes, then the do-do will hit the fan Maybe a massive earthquake will end your problems. Then you can all go back to picking vegetables.
I live here in CAlifornia too. In the Central San Joaquin Valley and if they were to remove all of the illegal aliens from this little town of 21,000 people (about) well lets just say that the Wal Mart would have to close its doors because it would be a ghost town. I agree with those of you who say that as long as you are here illegally that you aren’t a productive member of our Amerian society because you are a law breaker. Calling an illegal alien an undocumented worker is like calling a drug dealer an unlicensed pharmicist…just not true. What I want to know is what are we going to do about it? I donate what I can to FAIR and to Judicial Watch, it just seems like we should be able to do more. Even our republican candidates who promise to do something about illegal immigration end up not doing a damn thing about it in the end and once they are elected it is just another broken campaign promise that gets put on the back burner or better yet in the circular file on the floor next to their desks, better known as the trash.
These people are stealing our jobs, our tax dollars, our rental properties and our property in general and causing our emergency rooms to close down because they can’t afford to trweat people who use it as if it were a doctors office and then don’t pay. I see an awful lot of mexicans who are driving brand new trucks and they don’t seem to be doing any kind of real work, because if you are a farm worker you have to work during the day time and most of the time, here in my little town, they are out and about hanging with their friends playing their music loud. So tell me what can we do.
The cops pull them over and give them a ticket as if they have a drivers license and let them go, when they don’t speak a word of English, to me this is a sure sign that you weren’t born here or are a legal citizen. I think it has alot to do with big business who wants to sell their products to them (this is evident in the amount of spanish TV stations and all the ads that are the same as the ones we see on English TV only in spanish) and these business’s don’t care where the money comes from (drug deals or what) as long as they get it.
I am really tired of being treated as if I were from somewhere helse in my own country. I am in my 50′s and have lived in California all of my life and have watched our schools go from being afthe best in the nation to failing. Especially in this Valley full of illegals. They say they want to come here to better the lives of their children, the problem with that is that they seem to think that living on welfare and working minimum wage jobs is the way to do it. My son is going to high school online because he was one of about 10 caucasion kids to about 500 mexican kids and 1 african american kid, this created a bully situation for the kids that I was at first stunned about. I had never witnessed backward discrimination before and BELIEVE ME BACKWARD DISCRIMINATION IS ALIVE AND WELL IN CALIFORNIA! Finally after the principal continuing to deny that there was any kind of problem I pulled him out of school and sent him to K12 (CAVA-California Virtual Academy) so that there wouldn’t be any further problems. I didn’t ever want him to believe that he was any better or less than anyone else, but it became clear to me that the mexicans don’t teach their kids any respect where other races are concerned. How can these parents expect their kids to succeed when they (parents) won’t learn English so that they can help them with their homework and make it possible for them to really succeed in life.
I would like to know what, if any, ideas anyone else has to help us to solve this problem because obviously (as we read about CA thinking AZ SB 1070 is wrong and totally the Fed Govs problem) our Government here in CA and other illegal alien defender states, will not step up to the plate and take control and do something about it and I mean other then rewarding the illegals for breaking the law by paying their kids tuition, immediatley making their newborns citizens on welfare and letting them stay and then saying it would be a hardship on their families if they were sent home because they have relatives here. Of course they have citizen relatives here, just count how many years they have been here and that will tell you how many citizen relatives they have given birth to. You may have to use both hands because even though they aren’t all Catholic now, they still, it appears to me anyway, don’t believe in birth control of any kind.
LOVE YOUR STORY, MOST OF ALL ITS TRUE, HAVE THE SAME IN MY STATE….SO THE ILLEGALS HAVE FAMILY HERE MEANS NOTHING WE ALL HAVE FAMILY IN THE U.S. YOU WANT TO SEE THEM (ANOTHER STATE.) YOU TRAVEL BY CAR, TRAIN ETC. HAVEING FAMILY HERE, DOES NOT GIVE THEM THE RIGHT TO STAY………..
I live in Southern California or as most of my neighbors call it Northern Tijuana, I find it disturbing that our elected officials waste millions of dollars in legal fees to argue another States law when CA has many unemployed and Jerry Brown wants us to increase the sales tax to give them more money to give away to illegals. It is my Hope that Arizona prevails in this action brought on by the democrats here in CA.
As long as you are an illegal….. you are NOT a law abiding CITIZEN!!!!! They are not even suppose to be here in the first place!! now we are going to let them go to school here?!! THEY are given opportunities that not even us AMERICAN CITIZENS can get! DEPORT! DEPORT! DEPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some extremely ignorant lawmakers in CA I’d say!