Costs to defend Arizona immigration law top $1 million

The Arizona Republic reports that the cost for defending Arizona’s SB 1070 has surpassed $1 million.  Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s office released invoices from the Phoenix law firm Snell & Wilmer, which totaled to $621,846.16 for July and $440,520,25 for May and June.  The state’s legal defense fund has received $3.7 million from thousands of donors across all 50 states.  She will travel to 9^th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco to appeal the ruling that overturned parts of SB 1070.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/10/27/20101027arizona-immigration-lawcost-through-july.html#ixzz13fHYQmM5

* * * * * *

Court signals backing for Arizona immigration law

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a three-judge panel of the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals indicated it would reinstate a provision of Arizona’s SB 1070 that would authorize police to demand papers from those they reasonably suspected of being illegally present immigrants.  The provision would be weakened, however, so authorities would not be allowed to arrest or prosecute them under state law.  Instead, suspects would be referred to federal authorities for deportation. 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/01/MNDP1G54K0.DTL

* * * * * *

Nebraska Court won’t weigh in on immigration measure

The Associated Press reports that the Nebraska Supreme Court will not issue a ruling on whether municipalities can enact immigration-related restrictions on where people can live or work.  Since the request did not allege a violation of state law, the court will not consider the question. 

The court had been asked to consider the issue while a federal judge heard a lawsuit brought by the ACLU to challenge a Fremont ordinance that bars illegally present immigrants from renting property or finding employment.  The ordinance would require employers to use a federal online database to check whether a person is permitted to work in the U.S. and would require renters to apply for a permit at City Hall.  The city council has suspended the ordinance until its legality is decided in court.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/05/AR2010110503028.html

* * * * * *

Feds to reopen Michigan man’s asylum case

The Associated Press reports that the federal government has agreed to reopen the case of Anton Camaj, an asylum seeker from former Yugoslavia.  Camaj is facing deportation because he was forty minutes late to an immigration hearing in 1995.  A federal appeals court said that it would not intervene in the case, even though it believes Camaj suffered a ‘miscarriage of justice.’

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iFaFcrcqkRvWy6qCcwDEEtNG3bXw?docId=50f9ae4115394d2e8350b00d27f2dc07

* * * * * *

Supreme Court weighs fairness of citizenship rule that varies by sex

The Washington Independent reports that the Supreme Court is examining a citizenship law that treats men and women differently.  Ruben Flores-Villar, a Mexican-born man who grew up with an American-citizen father in the United States, is asking the court to halt his deportation.  He claims that he would have been granted citizenship if his mother had been an American instead of his father. 

Under citizenship law, children born outside the U.S. to at least one U.S. citizen parent can become citizens if the parent has lived in the country a certain period of time. However, the length of time differs for men and women.  Currently, fathers need to have spent at least five years in the country, two of which must be after the age of 14, while mothers need only one year of residence.

Members of the Supreme Court seem to have different opinions on the matter.  Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonio Scalia questioned a federal public defender’s claim that the law perpetuates outdated ‘gender stereotypes.’  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on the other hand, believes the court should consider parents like Flores-Villar’s father who don’t fit the traditional mold.

http://washingtonindependent.com/103262/supreme-court-weighs-fairness-ofcitizenship-law-differences-for-mothers-and-fathers

* * * * * *  

Immigration courts add 23 judges

The Washington Independent reports that the Justice Department has sworn in 23 new immigration judges.  The increase in judges should ease large backlogs in the immigration courts, where the average wait time for a case is 459 days.  It should also decrease the time defendants spend in detention centers.  The DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review promised to fill the 48 vacancies in immigration courts by the end of this year.  However, some immigrant rights advocates are concerned with the fact that 15 of the new judges previously worked for ICE.

http://washingtonindependent.com/103252/immigration-courts-add-23-judges

* * * * * *