Alabama Immigration Law: Obama Administration Files Lawsuit To Block Measure

WASHINGTON(Reuters) - The Obama administration Monday sued to block enforcement of Alabama's new immigration law, widely considered to be the toughest measure in the United States to try to crack down on illegal immigrants.

The law, known as H.B. 56, was signed by Republican Governor Robert Bentley in June and is due to take effect on Sept. 1. Civil rights groups brought a separate lawsuit challenging the law about a month ago.

``If allowed to go into effect, H.B. 56's enforcement scheme will conflict with and undermine the federal government's careful balance of immigration enforcement priorities and objectives,'' administration lawyers said.

``The scheme will cause the detention and harassment of authorized visitors, immigrants, and citizens who do not have or carry identification documents specified by the statute, or who otherwise will be swept into the ambit of H.B. 56's enforcement-at-all-costs approach,'' according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Alabama.

The administration argued that federal law preempted the state from adopting its own immigration regime and would interfere with the federal immigration system. There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Conservatives have complained that the Obama administration has failed to sufficiently stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. Attempts to overhaul federal immigration policy have gone nowhere in the U.S. Congress.

Besides Alabama, Georgia, Arizona, Utah and Indiana are defending new immigration laws in federal court. The Obama administration successfully sued to block Arizona's tough law last year.

``Today's action makes clear that setting immigration policy and enforcing immigration laws is a national responsibility that cannot be addressed through a patchwork of state immigration laws,'' Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

Alabama's law requires public schools to determine, by reviewing birth certificates or sworn affidavits, the legal residency status of students upon enrollment.

Police must also detain someone they suspect of being in the United States illegally if the person cannot produce proper documentation when stopped for any reason. That is similar to the Arizona law blocked by the courts from taking effect.

The Alabama law also would be a crime to knowingly transport or harbor someone who is in the country illegally.

The law also imposes penalties on businesses that knowingly employ someone without legal resident status, and a company's business license could be suspended or revoked. A similar Arizona law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in May.

The Alabama law also requires businesses to use a database called E-Verify to confirm the immigration status of new employees. (Reporting by James Vicini and Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by Anthony Boadle)

Comments

[Jerilyn Roubik]

02:33 PM on 08/09/2011

I have no issues with these states doing what it takes to not be taken over by illegals. They are breaking the law. Period. I can't even believe that the federal government even has a problem with that. It is appalling. So because the federal government doesn't want to step up and enforce the law, the states shouldn't either? What is this country turning into? It makes me sick. So if you are illegal and break our laws it's ok, but don't be a legal citizen in our country because if you break the law you will spend many years in prison. It all boils down to this fact.... WE as Americans have a very sad sad future, but the illegals, well they have a very nice one ahead of them.

[herenow12]

06:39 PM on 08/07/2011

This is state terror.

[bsf012003]

09:02 PM on 08/06/2011

need american workers 100-600 email us @ bsf012003@ yahoo.com ,long term fix . we work nights. specializing in farm hand help.

[spytheweb]

12:09 PM on 08/24/2011

undefined

[spytheweb]

12:10 PM on 08/24/2011

Are you paying more than a dollar a hour?

[iuriggs6]

08:11 AM on 08/05/2011

If the federal government would do something about these criminals, states would not have to take the lead.

[plsestopnthink]

03:22 PM on 08/03/2011

The states didn't take this stand during the Republican administrations becasue they knew the Repulicans would have do just what Holder is doing. Now they can insight against the Democratic Admin. By the way the judicial branch is separate from the legislative and excutive branches.

[plsestopnthink]

02:53 PM on 08/03/2011

I have read the responses to my post yesterday. I also have been angry about this immigration situation. I have watched the Mexican agriculture workers driving down roads in trucks, furnished to them by their employers, throw bags of litter out on to the roadways right before my eyes as I was driving home from work. Remember "don't be a litterbug!' I felt violated this is my country and I was brought up to respect other peoples property. This is one example. Do you realize the packing houses in the Midwest in order to squeeze out higher paid American workers solicited the illegals to come up and work for them at a cheaper hourly rate? I haven't noticed my food prices going down in the last twenty years have you? The reason this is crazy out of control is because all the Federal Administrations Dem and Rep have looked the other way to make money. Were this angy with Bush and his administration? I didn't see the states doing this then when Repulicans were in office. I am for the states taking a stand with this issue to inforce the law. Many legal Hispanic people have no problem with it either. There are however, many who believe they have the right to claim our country back for themselves.

[cerebrogasm]

05:16 PM on 08/03/2011

You can blame both sides of aisle, if you want, but the real culprit is the rise of corporatism, its allegiance to no country (even its place of birth), and its "manifesto" that everything is about increased profits. Hiring illegals is not about helping drop your food prices - it's about increasing profits by laborers willing to work for less and without the labor protections Americans get by law. Hiring Americans cuts too deep into profit - in other corporate sectors, where trained labor is needed - for instance, in high-tech businesses - corporations export jobs overseas for the same reasons. These same corporations are even willing to extensively train these foreign labor sources to do the jobs - which they still see as a beneficial cost / return ratio. That means they are exporting R & D as well as jobs. Most CEO's know that an American trained high tech foreign labor force will come back to bite them - eventually. But there are ways to stall that eventuality. This is about the rise of corporate colonization and allegiance to profit above national patronage. That's a lot harder to consider than who is really responsible for inviting & exploiting the illegal laborer, since these corporations and business owners have repeatedly demonstrated: profit before country.

[plsestopnthink]

06:30 PM on 08/03/2011

I am basically saying the same thing as you are. It has been the policy of Washington to cater to the lobbyists(corporations) no matter what side of the aisle you are on. I get very tired hearing rehtoric about blame one person when you are exactly right. I don't know how we as a country pull together to bring back some of the regulation that would keep more of this greed at bay. Especially when any legislation to regulate is labeled as socialism. I have watched this evolve for decades. Pinpointing the solution is like holding running water in your. You just can't.

[plsestopnthink]

06:31 PM on 08/03/2011

I meant to say holding running water in your hands. LOL

[seegray]

06:20 PM on 08/03/2011

I've driven down the highway and had blond-haired, blue-eyed non-Hispanics throw litter out that bounced off my windshield while I was driving 80 mph on an interstate. Littering can be very dangerous, no matter the ethnicity/nationality/race of the litterer.

I share your anger at litterers, but surely wouldn't hold that as a pattern by any single ethnicity/nationality/race. That's an odd one.

[plsestopnthink]

06:44 PM on 08/03/2011

I just used that experience as one illustration of my frustration. I could give you many more examples. I live in a community that is a safe haven for illegal immigrants of Hispanic descent. I believe the numbers throughout the US will demonstrate the migration of immigrants is primarily Latino. I am not a racist.

[voyager48]

12:55 PM on 08/03/2011

Federal appeals court vacates ruling on Hazleton case based on the employer sanctions ruling in AZ. This is a big blow to the ACLU, MALDEF and La Raza and good news for all states wishing to hold employers accountable. A positive step in targeting all enabling factors allowing illegals to operate with impunity.

http://standardspeaker.com/news/federal-appeals-court-vacates-ruling-on-hazleton-case-1.1183547#ixzz1Tz9AJcoz

[Fox Wood]

02:06 PM on 08/03/2011

This is good news!

[LiberalDemIda]

12:06 PM on 08/05/2011

Pay particular attention to the comments under that piece. And tell me again, this isn't all about anti-brown-skinned people. Ahahahaha!

Georgia passed a similar law. HR 87. Result? Shocked GOP Georgia pols find a huge exodus of all undocumented workers. Net result? Harvest rotting in the fields.

"After enacting House Bill 87, a law designed to drive illegal immigrants out of Georgia, state officials appear shocked to discover that HB 87 is, well, driving a lot of illegal immigrants out of Georgia.

It might be funny if it wasn’t so sad.

Thanks to the resulting labor shortage, Georgia farmers have been forced to leave millions of dollars’ worth of blueberries, onions, melons and other crops unharvested and rotting in the fields. It has also put state officials into something of a panic at the damage they’ve done to Georgia’s largest industry."
http://thirdbranch.vox.crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/anti-immigrant-showboating-politician

[voyager48]

04:04 PM on 08/05/2011

There is no way that the cure is worse than the disease! (and yes that is a metaphor). You are trying to make the case that we cannot function without illegals (and specifically Hispanic illegals) - which I absolutely do not buy!

Secondly, about 1 in 15 people in the USA are illegal, however about 1 in 5 Hispanics are illegal. This is not racists - just the facts, but perhaps given the disparity, the more appropriate question might be why Hispanics as a group feel our country's laws somehow do not apply to them?

25% of illegals left AZ after SB1070 - which is kind of the point, so I don't see where the problem should be with that. If GA's law achieves similar success, why would that be a surprise to anybody? Similarly why would any illegal be "Shocked" or "surprised" when they get busted for breaking the law? So again why then would illegal Hispanics (I am assuming this is what you mean by "Brown People") be more "shocked" or "surprised" than any one else - unless there was an unfounded sense of entitlement?

Lastly, any society that does not pay a living wage for menial work is patently unsustainable. The fact that illegals have depressed wages in this area is as much of symptom as it is a problem.

Bottom line - we need to end this human ponzi scheme now!

[ShowMeC6]

05:49 PM on 08/10/2011

So let me ask you a question; what would your answer be? Should we allow unvetted entry into this country? Should we allow persons to bypass the legal route in favor of those who have, or are in the process of entry into the United States via legal channels.

Why do you assume this is an 'anti-brown skinned" movement? Fact of the matter is the countries that floods the United States with the most illegal immigrants are south of the border, therefore it is reasonable to look a little closer at people of Hispanic ancestry. Would you claim it is anti-white skin if say we shared a border with Norway and there was an overwhelming number of illegal immigrants from that country.

Maybe we need to pay a little more for our veggies and fruits. Maybe that would be less than we are now paying in social welfare, schools, and medical care....

[Cautiously optimistic]

10:51 AM on 08/03/2011

Holder needs to investigate Illinois and Gov Quinn. Quinn took it upon himself and against most of the people in Illinois to pass the Dream Act there. Seems he's spending Government work time and taxpayer money (paying his salary in the process) by having a State get involved with something to do with Illegal Immigrants.

[LiberalDemIda]

03:20 AM on 08/03/2011

For all their pontificating and bloviating,_anti-brown-skinned_Trollz here twist themselves into pretzels to hide behind sudden concern for illegal immigration. We know the two ONLY reasons you're suddenly all gung-ho about illegal immigration:

1)_Racism;

2)_Terrified about a larger Democratic voting bloc.

Everything else is just window dressing.

[RNP2233]

08:29 AM on 08/03/2011

Actually Sweetie

1. They are Illegal and not all brown you MRON
2. They are here Illegally which means get out
3. I aint paying for these criminals to be on welfare or get freebies from the government for votes

4. You are DMB

[LeftWingLift]

10:21 AM on 08/03/2011

Actually.....many Mexican illegals are returning to Mexico because their economy is better.
Maybe this pathetic potus can finally take credit for helping with our illegal problem.

[LiberalDemIda]

10:32 AM on 08/03/2011

I've heard that. Their economy is better and their social safety net is better, too.

[tractorboy54]

01:31 AM on 08/03/2011

No brainer, first word in illegal immigrant is illegal. Pay taxes, become a citizen or get the hell out and off my dime.

[holyghostie]

11:14 PM on 08/02/2011

The federal government needs to enforce its laws....but congress needs to make illegal entry more than a misdemenor. Immigrants caught with forged documents, should be charged with identity theft....

The reason they won't enforce it is because they make something like 22 billion dollars a year into the general revenue of the fed. govt by social security money collected on faked ids....that can't be claimed by the illegals. Its a win win for them. The pols get the lobbyist money for reelection by helping big business keep the flow of cheap labor, AND...the pols get the illegals social security money....the real losers are the state governments who have to educate the anchor babies...and provide emergency room visits for the illegals and free maternity care...for the anchor babies.

[maxom]

10:53 PM on 08/02/2011

Let's ee if I have this right....Obama has deported more illegals than any other Prez......Alabama passes an immigration law....Obama is suing Alabama over the law.....now wait a minute....does that mean Obama WANTs more illegals in Alabama? hmmmm....there is something wrong with this picture.....shirley, Obama doesn't get a bonus from deporting MORE illegals....does he?...I mean...if more come in,more get deported....bigger turnover....bigger bonus.....NAH.......COULDN'T BE!!!

[ModerateCentrist]

11:13 AM on 08/03/2011

Actually that's nothing but a PR gimmick.
Deportations are only up slightly - "ICE statistics show that deportations have increased from 189,000 in 2001 to 387,000 in 2009"....(Big Deal - 196,000 more),
BUT APPREHENSIONS are down by a Million a Year !!!

United States Border Patrol, Total Illegal Alien Apprehensions By Fiscal Year :

1999: 1,579,010
2000: 1,676,438
2001: 1,266,213
2002: 955,310
2003: 931,557
2004: 1,160,395
2005: 1,189,075
2006: 1,089,092
2007: 876,704
2008: 723,825
2009: 556,041
2010: 463,382

And Apprehensions are MORE important - keeps them out to begin with.

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/usbp_statistics/bp_swb_apps_60_10.ctt/bp_swb_apps_60_10.pdf

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-09-10-immigration10_ST_N.htm

[JohnnyWalkerBlueLabel]

08:58 PM on 08/02/2011

Alabama needs to file a lawsuit to force Eric Holder to enforce US immigration laws. Why else would multiple states be taking this situation into their own hands, if the Federal government wasn't abdicating its responsibilities in this area?

[maxom]

10:55 PM on 08/02/2011

hmmmm....maybe Holder gets the bonus.

[Ldyforce6]

11:16 PM on 08/02/2011

I could think of lots of reason why they would feel they need to do this...but it has nothing to do with the feds not doing their job since Obama (and Holder and Homeland Security) have done more than BUSH and the Republicans did and THEY had the entire government in their control for 6 out of 8 years.

>A June 30 memorandum from ICE director John Morton instructed officers to focus their "principal attention" on felons and repeat lawbreakers. The policy, influenced by a series of sometimes-heated White House meetings, also targets repeat border crossers and declares that parents caring for children or the infirm should be detained only in unusual cases.

Morton said the 400,000 people expected to be deported this year -- either physically removed or allowed to leave on their own power -- represent the maximum the overburdened processing, detention and immigration court system can handle. <

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072501790.html

[dustyarain]

07:49 PM on 08/02/2011

Sorry. Until the Federal Government actually enacts an immigration law to make coming into this country illegally as punishable as it is in every other nation in the world, I say let the states have at it.

You cannot live in California, Texas, or Florida, without speaking a second langauge. Sad, but true. This is America, not Mexico, not Cuba, not China.

[seegray]

08:40 PM on 08/02/2011

See now, there's the whole problem with these state laws...in a nutshell. Thanks for providing it. You assume that since Spanish is prevalent, it must be because of "illegals". You assume that if someone speaks Spanish, and little English, they must be illegal. That is precisely why these state laws should be found unconstitutional...they will discriminate, just as you demonstrate so well the bias.

[voyager48]

09:14 PM on 08/02/2011

that must be why every single case against SB1070 was summarily dismissed for failing to make any such case for racial profiling or discrimination then?

[dustyarain]

12:06 AM on 08/03/2011

Considering a prerequiste to become a legal immigrant in this nation is to speak English, if you can't speak it, then yes, you must be an illegal, or you were born here with a family that's illegal. So. Where's your justification again? And did you hear me say Spanish? No. There's plenty of cubans here illegally, africans here illegally, hell more than a good number of russians and chinese too. I don't discriminate when I say they are a drain on this nation. I say send them ALL back.

You are one of those few that see immigration as a matter of race. I see it as a matter of people coming to this nation, and demanding benifits they have no right to. While those in this nation that DO have a right to those benifits, don't get them, simply because they don't have the right skin color, or the proper lobbyist group screaming in front a camera to try and stir up racial tension and hatred.

[Cacey]

08:29 AM on 08/03/2011

And the US is one of the few countries in which people only speak one language. I'd venture to say my 26 year old Nicaraguan gardeiner speaks better English than many in Alabama.

[LeftWingLift]

10:31 AM on 08/03/2011

And your point is...............bogus
You might do a few searchs to see how many languages our public documents are printed in.
If English were the ONLY language spoken in the US we could save a trillion in education and publications alone. Your point seems to have lost it's tip.

[spytheweb]

12:41 PM on 08/24/2011

I'll be impressed when Hispanics speak another language other then English, the world's easiest language to learn how to speak. Show me a Hispanic who can speak only Spanish and French or German? There are many Hispanics who have been in America, illegally for 20 years yet can not speak English, how slow are they?

BTW, speaking English does not qualify you to be here illegally or for a US citizenship.

[Roofer Ron]

06:44 PM on 08/02/2011

Please enforce all immigration laws, state and federal. I am a white roofer in Arizona, a dying breed due to illegal aliens who want my job, which the politicians are ready to give away. The politicians tell everyone that illegals are doing jobs that citizens wont do. I say BULL!! Many roofing companies hire illegals cheaply and pay them cash for substandard work.
Illegals don`t pay income taxes and are adrain on our social services and schools. Many `legal` children of illegal aliens go to our public schools while their parents pay no taxes. Many Illegals go to the ER and then never pay the hospital bills, resulting in higher health care costs for those of us who do try to pay our medical bills with no insurance. Obama care will cost me $500 per month. That is 1/4 of my monthly earnings! I already pay $450 per month for mandatory auto insurance( me, wife ,@ 2 daughters). Soon i will be paying almost 1/2 my monthly income to the insurance co`s.
Many illegals send some of their money back to Mexico. If a million aliens send a $100 a month to Mexico thats 100 million dollars leaving the country, which didn`t get added to the trade deficit.
Please save my job. Don`t hire illegals.

[seegray]

07:42 PM on 08/02/2011

Tell your employer that. The companies are the reasons illegal immigrants keep coming.

[AZ Stang]

08:31 PM on 08/02/2011

No, Identity Theft is the reason more aren't caught.

[Roofer Ron]

08:44 PM on 08/02/2011

My former employer did not have any illegals working for him. The threat of losing his business and contractors license was too great. He was forced to let our ONE illegal go after 5 years. He spoke pretty good english and wanted to be citizen.

[ModerateCentrist]

11:36 AM on 08/03/2011

i hear you, Roofer Ron. i'm in FL, and know roofers who were told by their bosses.
"sorry, we can't pay you as employees amymore" and were let go...
and these guys would later stop at jobsites of their former companies (they knew by the trucks) and see a crew of non-English-speaking Latinos.(yes, they knew they couldn't speak English because they tried talking to them).
and when i had my roof redone last year, an American came out to do the bid, but illegals showed up to do the job.