Into the presidential campaign.
"US challenges to state immigration laws intensify; Statutes under review for possible suits" September 30, 2011|By Jerry Markon, Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is escalating its crackdown on tough immigration laws, with lawyers reviewing four new state statutes to determine whether the federal government will take the extraordinary step of challenging the measures in court....
“I don’t recall any time in history that the Justice Department has so aggressively challenged state laws,’’ said Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert at George Washington University Law School.
The legal skirmishing was triggered by last year’s Arizona law, which requires that police check immigration status if they stop someone while enforcing other laws. Amid a fierce national debate, a Justice Department lawsuit led federal courts to block that measure’s most contested provisions, but similar laws were approved in recent months in Alabama, Utah, Georgia, Indiana, and South Carolina. At least 17 other states have considered such measures this year.
Although Wednesday’s ruling in Alabama was something of a setback, the Justice Department and civil rights groups have been on a winning streak. The ACLU and other groups have obtained rulings temporarily blocking all or key parts of immigration laws in Utah, Georgia, and Indiana, with Republican- and Democrat-appointed judges blasting the measures as devoid of due process protections or for targeting illegal immigrants.
The administration is under pressure from some quarters to intervene in those states, as well as South Carolina, where a new immigration law is set to take effect Jan. 1. Civil rights groups have been lobbying the White House and Justice and State departments, according to people familiar with the effort, and the ACLU is circulating an online petition calling for federal lawsuits. More than 23,000 people have signed.
The legal maneuvering comes as immigration is flaring as a political issue....
Because the AmeriKan media is making it one.
ANYTHING but the WARS and WALL STREET!
Hovering over the debate is the possible involvement of the Supreme Court. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in April that the most contested parts of Arizona’s immigration law will remain blocked. They include allowing for warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants and criminalizing the failure of immigrants to carry registration papers.
Man, does that ever have the whiff of fascism to it.
Of course, as a citizen I always have to show my papers (ID) when I interact with the state.
Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona, a Republican, is seeking Supreme Court review, and the court could decide to hear the case this term. That would mean a decision before the 2012 presidential election.
Same as the health care law.
The state statutes, signed into law over the past five months, include a range of provisions, including authorizing police to question people’s immigration status, limiting the ability of immigrants to use certain forms of identification, and criminalizing the harboring or transport of illegal immigrants.
--more--"
So if you let this guy sleep it off at your place you are breaking the law?
"Obama’s uncle goes to court on OUI charges" September 30, 2011|By Brian R. Ballou and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
FRAMINGHAM - The uncle of President Obama did not speak yesterday when he appeared in district court for a routine hearing on a drunken driving charge.
In a hearing that lasted about two minutes, the lawyer for Onyango Obama and Middlesex prosecutors agreed to continue the case until Nov. 17. Obama, 67, a resident of Framingham, was arrested by Framingham police Aug. 24 on charges of operating under the influence and other offenses.
Obama has pleaded not guilty. Framingham District Court Judge Robert V. Greco released him on personal recognizance yesterday....
No description of the circumstances of his arrest was provided in court. Obama and his lawyer, P. Scott Bratton of Lowell, left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. The two men drove off in a black sport utility vehicle.
Following his arrest, Obama was taken into custody on an immigration detainer, but he was released Sept. 9 by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a public explanation of the agency’s decision. A spokesman told the Globe at the time that federal privacy laws ban officials from discussing individual cases.
Someone pulled some strings down in D.C.!
Obama is the half-brother of the president’s late father. At the time of his arrest, Obama allegedly told police, “I think I will call the White House’’ to arrange bail.
In 1992, Obama was ordered by immigration authorities to return to his native Kenya, records show. However, he has lived in the Framingham area, working as a clerk at Conti Liquors here while living with a family in a modest wood-frame house on a residential street.
Doesn't surprise me; Massachusetts is a sanctuary state.
--more--"
Also see: Immigrants on the Move in Massachusetts
Obama's Uncle Owes Back Taxes
Globe's Cross-Country Road Trip
