There is no shortage of criticism of our immigration laws from detractors who contend that they are unjust and immoral. And though criticism of U.S. immigration laws can be fierce – particularly in the case of Arizona’s SB 1070, the Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhood Acts – Mexico’s much harsher immigration laws rarely get noticed. Upon Arizona’s passage of SB 1070, critics attacked the law with claims of racial profiling. Among the opponents were the open border lobby, including the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), other liberal interest groups, President …
According to a recent study, roughly 100,000 illegal immigrants could have fled Arizona since passage of SB 1070. The Mexican government reported that almost 25,000 illegal immigrants returned to Mexico following passage of the law. As we stated in “Controlling Illegal Immigration: State and Local Governments Must Do More”, under the Constitution, states and cities have considerable powers to deal with the illegal immigration within their jurisdictions. Our work (along with many others) to guide states and localities resulted in SB1070. More states are looking to follow Arizona’s lead. With …
The Obama Justice Department has launched an unprecedented legal assault on Arizona’s attempts to stem the tide of illegal immigration, filing at least three lawsuits against Arizona and other state officials and entities. Supporters of Arizona’s actions argue that the lawsuits not only ignore conditions on the ground in Arizona, but also will make them worse. Are Arizona’s actions justified and constitutional? Do they violate civil rights? Are the lawsuits filed by Justice driven by politics or legal considerations? And what effect will they have on federal enforcement and border …
Last week, a federal judge appointed by President Bill Clinton, Judge Susan Bolton, blocked the enforcement of Arizona Senate Bill 1070, which was passed in an effort to control the flow of illegal immigrants into Arizona. In order to do that Judge Bolton gave a reading of the law and the evidence that the parties presented that fails to meet one of the fundamental principles of statutory interpretation: The court should give effect to each of the words of a statute if possible. Section 1373(c) of Title 8, U.S. Code, …
Hours after yesterday’s decision by President Bill Clinton judicial appointee Susan Bolton to preemptively stop enforcement of Arizona’s immigration enforcement law, Thomas A. Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), told The New York Times: “This is a warning to any other jurisdiction.” Just in case the message from the Obama administration and its leftist allies was not clear, Obama appointee U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke told The Associated Press: “Surely it’s going to make states pause and consider how they’re drafting legislation and how it …
