State and local police can enforce civil immigration violations

Any time a state or local official says they can't enforce civil immigration violations, send them this:

Bowing to pressure earlier this month, The U.S. Department of Justice released a 2002 legal memorandum revealing the department's official position on state and local enforcement of federal immigration law. To the chagrin of many, the memo's author, then Assistant Attorney General, Jay S. Bybee, says state and local police possess the inherent right to enforce civil violations of federal immigration law. The Assistant A.G.'s memo concludes it is "unreasonable" to assume Congress intended to deprive the federal government of "whatever assistance States may provide" in identifying and detaining individuals who have violated federal immigration laws... In other words, the Department of Justice believes state and local police are entitled to act when they believe federal immigration laws are being violated...

Immigration2005b · Thu, 10/27/2005 - 04:48 · · Importance: 1

Comments

"unreasonable"

I also remember seeing a legal doctrine/precedent applied to this general situation: such actions on the part of local governments are improper because they result in an "unreasonable" burden on the federal government to, if necessary, go to court to force localities to enforce any and every federal law the localities decide they don't want to or shouldn't enforce.

You get the idea I hope.

It made a lot of sense to me at the time.

Posted by: eh at Oct 27, 2005 7:33 AM

24Ahead.com

Independent, in-depth coverage of immigration, politics, and media bias since 2002. Also: multiculturalism, Los Angeles, California, privacy, and occasionally celebrities and wacky humor...

If you can't find what you're looking for, see the About page or use the navigation features to the right.

Start here