The Dangerous Road to Freedom: 500 Immigrants Found in Semi-Trailers
May 25, 2011 by carolthompson
Written By: Stephen Batten, J.D.
If you want to read a well-reported, cogently written story about the dangers immigrants from Central America face as they try to make it to the United States, please read the following piece by Catherine E. Shoichet of CNN posted this past Friday on May 20, 2011 11:25 a.m. EDT. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/05/19/mexico.migrants/index.html?hpt=C1) [Read more]
The Basics of Immigration
May 17, 2011 by carolthompson
Written By: Stephen Batten, J.D.
Welcome to the basics of immigration. This blog is about the immigrant experience in the United States - people from other nations who for family, unification, humanitarian, or employment reasons leave their home countries and make the journey to the United States. It is a journey that has become increasingly complicated since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. [Read more]
Provisions of the Arizona Law That Impose Penalties on Unauthorized Alien Workers Also Enjoined
August 20, 2010 by carolthompson
Written by Gary K. Silberman
The next section enjoined by the court criminalizes any attempt to obtain work or any work as an employee or independent contractor by an unauthorized alien. The United States argued that, like other sections of this law, this provision was preempted by federal law, in that Congress chose to not impose criminal penalties for these actions. Arizona claimed that states possess broad authority to regulate employment so as to protect workers. The state’s argument was bolstered by a Ninth Circuit decision holding that where a state chooses to sanction employers who hire unauthorized workers, a presumption exists that federal preemption does not apply. [Read more]
State Penalties for Violation of the INA
August 18, 2010 by carolthompson
Written by Gary K. Silberman, Esq.
Section 3 of the Arizona statute makes it a misdemeanor to willfully fail to complete or carry an alien registration document, which basically creates a state crime for a violation of a federal law. The unconstitutionality of this section was easy to determine. The Supreme Court has already found that the “power to restrict, limit, regulate, and register aliens” is not a power to be shared by the states and the federal government. [Read more]
Immigration Status Checks
August 13, 2010 by carolthompson
By: Attorney Gary K. Silberman, Esq.
Section 2(B) of S.B. 1070 provides that when a lawful stop, detention or arrest is made by an Arizona law enforcement official and reasonable suspicion exists that the person is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt must be made to determine the immigration status of the person. The court found that this provision should be enjoined, based on a number of reasons. [Read more]
Judge Enjoins Arizona from Enforcing Most of New Immigration Law
August 8, 2010 by carolthompson
Written By: Gary K. Silberman, Esq.
The day before the Arizona immigration law was set to go into effect, a federal judge prevented the key provisions of that law. The order that forbids Arizona from enforcing that law is a preliminary injunction, which means that the court will still have a trial on the constitutionality of the law, but until then the controversial sections of the law are unenforceable. In order to enter a preliminary injunction, the court had to find (1) that the plaintiffs (the parties that brought the suit) are likely to win at trial, (2) that if the law went into effect, there was a substantial chance that irreparable harm would occur, (3) that the balance of equities tips in its favor and (4) that a preliminary injunction is in the public interest.
Over the next several blogs, we’ll review the provisions that were enjoined and take a look at why the judge found that those provisions were problematic enough to warrant an order preventing them from going into effect until a trial can take place.
