Chipotle workers fired over immigration status sue for back pay
The Star Tribune (MN) reports that two former employees of Chipotle Mexican Grill in Minnesota have filed a lawsuit claiming the restaurant failed to pay their wages in a timely fashion. The workers were among hundreds who were fired after an audit by ICE raised questions about their immigration statuses. The lawsuit claims that under Minnesota law, the employees should have been paid their earned compensation immediately upon their dismissal.
http://www.startribune.com/business/115234749.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU
* * * * * *
BIA overturns previous ruling, narrows grounds for deportation
The American Immigration Council reports that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) modified its interpretation of a law which multiple federal courts ruled had ignored the intent of Congress. Under current law, immigrants may be deported for ‘crimes of moral turpitude’ if the crime was committed within five years of admission to the United States. Previously, BIA held that the five year clock restarted when noncitizens adjust to lawful permanent resident status from inside the United States. In response to federal ruling, however, BIA will not restart the fiver-year clock in such cases.
http://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/newsroom/release/board-immigration-appeals-overturns-previous-ruling-narrows-grounds-deportation
* * * * * *
Arizona sues feds over immigration issues
The Arizona Republic reports that Arizona filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against the federal government over its immigration policies. Governor Jan Brewer said the intent of the lawsuit is to force the federal government to protect Arizonians. The lawsuit alleges that the federal government has failed in five areas: to maintain ‘operational control’ of the border, to protect Arizona against ‘invasion,’ to enforce immigration laws, to reimburse Arizona for the cost of incarcerating criminal illegally present immigrants, and to uphold the 10th amendment, which states that powers not explicitly delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states. The lawsuit asks for a court mandate requiring the government to finish building 700 miles of fence along the border and increase the number of immigration officers in the state.
Other similar suits against the federal government have failed in the past. In 1996, a suit by California alleging that President Clinton failed to live up to a 1994 law requiring the U.S. attorney general to reimburse states for prison costs or transfer inmates to federal prison was dismissed. In 2006, Colorado passed Referendum K, ordering the state’s attorney general to file suit against the federal government for failure to enforce immigration laws. That lawsuit was eventually dismissed.
Arizona Republic
* * * * * *
