"Immigration battle in Ariz. goes to court; No ruling yet; law set to take effect July 29" by Jacques Billeaud, Associated Press | July 16, 2010
PHOENIX — Arizona’s impending immigration law went before a federal judge for the first time yesterday and attorneys for both sides sparred over who had the right to enforce immigration law: local officials or the federal government.
When the feds start enforcing it let us know.
US District Judge Susan Bolton didn’t rule on whether to block the law from taking effect July 29, or whether to dismiss the lawsuit, one of seven. Hearings in two other lawsuits — including one filed by the federal government — are set for July 22, and the judge has given no hints on what she might favor.
At stake is more than just who can detain illegal immigrants within US borders. If Bolton rules in Arizona’s favor, it opens the door to states taking on issues that have been the responsibility of the federal government.
John Bouma, an attorney representing the state, argued that Arizona shouldn’t have to suffer from the country’s broken immigration system when it has 15,000 police officers who can arrest illegal immigrants.
“Just leaving it in the status quo leaves the state of Arizona in economic harm, in irreparable harm, every day,’’ Bouma said, noting the state’s steep education and health care costs for illegal immigrants.
Correct, but you can't say it in AmeriKa without being called a racist.
Of course, it is okay to slaughter brown-skinned people darn near everywhere we find them.
But allowing Arizona to carry out its own immigration law violates all court decisions that hold that only the federal government can handle immigration, said Stephen Montoya, an attorney for Phoenix police officer David Salgado, who filed the lawsuit along with the statewide nonprofit group Chicanos Por La Causa.
“The federal government doesn’t want this assistance,’’ Montoya said....
Yeah, and we know why, too.
Protesters and supporters of the law gathered outside the courthouse, separated by at least seven Phoenix police officers.
Ever notice the MSM always finds an immigration protest like a fly finds s***?
About two dozen supporters, many dressed in red, white, and blue, held up signs praising Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a major backer of the crackdown on illegal immigrants, and one that said “American Pride.’’
I'm not a big fan of Joe after what I saw in American Drug War.
Larry Templeton, 66, of Sun City, said he came to support the law because he believes in defending states’ rights.
“They’re saying it’s racist. It isn’t anti- any race, it’s anticriminal,’’ said Templeton, who wore an American flag T-shirt and a hat with American flag buttons.
About 10 feet away, some 30 people opposed to the law held up signs calling for its repeal....
The law requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person’s immigration status if officers have a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally.
It's the same as the federal law they will not enforce.
Montoya said the US Department of Justice’s separate challenge to the Arizona law bolsters his clients’ argument that the state law is unconstitutional. Both lawsuits contend that the state law intrudes on the federal government’s constitutional authority to set and enforce immigration policy and regulation....
Before 1965 we had a QUOTA SYSTEM!
And don't you dare suggest a crime component:
"All 10,000 crime victim visas issued" by Associated Press | July 16, 2010
WASHINGTON — The government has issued all 10,000 visas available this year for immigrant crime victims who help authorities investigate and prosecute perpetrators.
The last of this fiscal year’s supply of visas was approved yesterday morning, marking the first time the government has hit the statutory “U’’ visa limit since the program became active two years ago.
The visas were created as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. They are given to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other crimes in exchange for cooperation with law enforcement.
In 2007, attorneys for immigrants who had been victims of crime sued the federal government for failing to issue any visas. Only 52 were issued in 2008. About 6,000 applications were approved last fiscal year.
Alejandro Mayorkas, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, said that an increased focus on U visa processing has contributed to increased applications.
Another 10,000 visas will be available in October, when the 2011 fiscal year begins.--more--"
Related: Abducted Calif. girl found in Arizona
"ICE chief Morton takes plenty of political heat; Ariz. law puts him in a difficult spot" by Jerry Markon, Washington Post | July 20, 2010
WASHINGTON — On a typical day, John Morton finds himself under assault from the political right for failing to crack down on illegal immigration and from the left for cracking down too aggressively. And that is a good day.
Morton holds what might seem like one of the federal government’s most thankless jobs: director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. He is a key public face of Obama administration policy on a bitterly divisive issue, and the divide has only grown in the weeks since the Justice Department sued Arizona over the state’s tough new immigration law.
Yes, I'm tired of being divided for and by politics when we all agree on so much.
If that law is allowed to take effect July 29, Morton and his agency will be even more in the center of the controversy: His agents will take most of the calls from Arizona authorities seeking to turn illegal immigrants over for deportation. Morton has already said they will not necessarily respond, drawing a rebuke from Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, on Fox News.
“I’m not going to shut down immigration enforcement in the 49 other states of the union to commit to responding to every potential immigration violator in the state of Arizona,’’ Morton reaffirmed in an interview in his D.C. office.
That's a bit hyperbolic, isn't it?
ICE has the resources to deport about 400,000 illegal immigrants a year nationwide — and there are an estimated 460,000 in Arizona alone....
Can you say failed state, Americans?
Sure enough, Morton and his agency evoke strong opinions from all sides....
Criticisms are voiced by the American Federation of Government Employees Council 118, which represents about 7,000 ICE workers and recently cast a vote of no confidence in Morton’s leadership. The union accuses Morton of abandoning ICE’s core mission of enforcing immigration laws and focusing on policies related to amnesty.
He's Obama's man, all right!
Morton’s defenders are equally fervent....
So I have seen and heard.
--more--"
WASHINGTON — Two lawsuits were filed yesterday against the town of Fremont, Neb., seeking to overturn an ordinance banning illegal immigrants from renting homes or taking jobs.
Fremont, a rural town with a population of about 25,000, found itself at the frontline of the immigration debate when it passed the law in a special election last month.
Related: No Heart in the Heartland
It was due to go into effect July 29, but a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union seeks an immediate injunction while the legal battle ensues. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund also filed suit against the city....
Supporters of the new law, which was put to a vote after a two-year debate, said it was needed because illegal immigrants were taking away jobs from legal workers and because the federal government has refused to take strong enough action against illegal immigration.
The ACLU’s lawsuit claims that the law is unconstitutional because immigration policy is the sole responsibility of the federal government....
And when someone doesn't live up to their responsibility?
Fremont’s immigrant population has grown as foreign workers have been attracted by the meatpacking industry.
No taxes, no benefits. no complaints for the companies, cui bono?
--more--"
PHOENIX — Defendants include various county officials from throughout the state, most of whom sent lawyers to the hearing. Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever was there in person, sitting at the front of the courtroom.
Dever’s county is on the Arizona-Mexico border and he knew a rancher who was killed in March on his sprawling border property by a suspected illegal immigrant, possibly a scout for drug smugglers.
Why the use of the word sprawling, pro-illegal paper?
The killing of Robert Krentz in many ways set the stage for the new Arizona law to pass, with politicians calling for action amid border violence....
Outside the courthouse, opponents gathered in prayer before the hearing started and carried paper doves attached to plants representing olive branches, a symbol of peace....
Look at this, the Globe finally discovered antiwar protesters.
--more--"
US considers softening immigrant detention facilities
Turns out AmeriKa isn't everything they told you, huh?
