Ala. Immigration Law Temporarily Blocked in DOJ Suit

Politico (DC) reports that Alabama’s self-proclaimed “toughest-in-the-nation” immigration law now faces its third major legal challenge, this time from the Department of Justice.  In a statement released by the Justice Department, Attorney General Eric Holder said states cannot set their own immigration laws, reserving that right as a “national responsibility that cannot be addressed through a patchwork of state immigration laws.”  The Alabama law’s chief legislative sponsor told the AP the Justice Department lawsuit is an infringement on Alabama’s sovereignty.

CNN reports that the judge considering the case, U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn, temporarily blocked the immigration law while she considers the merits of each side’s argument.  In an earlier hearing, Blackburn questioned the requirement for school districts to check the immigration status of newly-enrolled students as well as a provision that allows law enforcement officers with “reasonable suspicion” that a person is in the country illegally to detain the person while checking their status.  She also questioned some of the claims made by the groups seeking the injunction.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-29/us/alabama.immigration.law_1_immigration-law-immigration-status-illegal-immigration?_s=PM:US

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Ruling over PA. Town’s Immigration Law Vacated

The Associated Press reports that a federal appeals court vacated its ruling declaring a northeastern Pennsylvania city’s immigration law to be unconstitutional.  The move by the Philadelphia-based 3^rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was expected after the Supreme Court ordered it to take another look at the law.  The Supreme Court threw out the appeals ruling in June after the justices upheld a similar employer-sanctions law in Arizona.  The order from the 3^rd Circuit does not mean that the city can begin implementing the law because a 2007 district court’s ruling striking down the law remains in force.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h69TspK-JX3wr72yMrWSazvo_xGA?docId=7bf5ad27d2344a2a9fd1dc3beb2d47d7

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Arizona Petitions Immigration Law to Supreme Court

Politico (DC) reports that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to consider her state’s appeal to a lower court ruling that put on hold parts of Arizona’s immigration law.  Brewer said she is confident the Supreme Court will take the case and clarify the issue of authority in matters of immigration law.  The 9^th Circuit Court said in its April ruling against the state that the Obama administration would likely be able to prove that the law is unconstitutional and that Congress has given the federal government sole authority over immigration laws.  Meanwhile, Brewer’s office continues to insist the federal government has not done enough to resolve the issues that result from illegal immigration.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61010.html

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Judge in NY Orders Federal Govt. to Release 40k Records on Immigrant Program by Sept. 13

The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin told the government to release 40,000 documents about the Secure Communities program by Sept. 13 to civil rights groups and immigrant advocates.  The judge set the schedule after rejecting a government plan to produce them by year’s end.  Scheindlin also ordered the release of a document in which the government explains its rationale for the program.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/judge-in-ny-orders-federal-govt-to-release-40k-records-on-immigrant-program-by-sept-13/2011/08/18/gIQA5OZXOJ_story.html

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