Saturday, October 01, 2011

Alabama immigration law upheld

Key parts of Alabama immigration law upheld




Rotting AF1

A federal judge on Wednesday said Alabama law enforcement officers can try to check the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally...  the toughest in the country.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn (President George H.W. Bush) said Alabama is allowed to tread anywhere that federal law doesn’t explicitly prohibit states from acting, which means the state can enact its own penalties for immigrants who fail to carry their registration papers, and can enable its state and local police to check immigration status.


Finally, a judge who appears to have read and understood the 9th and 10th Amendments.  Almost.  This is what I find oddly at odds with her thinking.

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

So what happened here?

But the judge did block four parts of Alabama’s law that she said go beyond what federal law allows: One provision created a civil action against employers who hired illegal immigrants over legal workers; another banned illegal immigrants from applying for a job; one made it a crime to harbor an illegal immigrant; and the other prohibited businesses from claiming tax deductions on wages paid to illegal immigrants.

How could Judge Lovelace Blackburn apply the 10th Amendment so haphazardly?  I'm not a federal judge, and that's unfortunate.  I will then direct you the the Federalist Blog's treatment of this very issue (The US Constitution Only Delegates the Power Over Immigration or Asylum to the States

Unlike the Federal Government, State governments claim broad general powers, and therefore, the question is never whether a power is granted for a State to exercise, but whether the power has been explicitly withheld from the State. The Federal Government was given specific national sovereignty over such things as war, peace, treaties (within the sphere of powers delegated), print money, define and punish piracies and felonies on the high Seas, make uniform rules of naturalization for foreigners who migrated to some State per State law, etc.



Judge, the ball is in your court.  Explain yourself, please. 




8 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, just what is an "illegal immigrant"?

Chuck Martel said...

I think it's because those four items are already regulated by the feds. Like this "One provision created a civil action against employers who hired illegal immigrants over legal workers".

We already have something to combat this -- RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act). RICO not only has criminal penalties -- it also has civil ones.

A person or entity materially injured by a party or parties participating in RICO can file suit to recover damages.

How do you use this against illegal aliens? By suing their employers.

You allege racial discrimination. Meat processing plants hire the poorest of the poor. Historically, lots of black folks have worked at these plants. Now the plants hire only Hispanics. This is where organizations like the local NAACP come in.

They can fund the suit and one of their members can stand in as a representative of the class of employees who have been discriminated against.

If you are successful, you get treble damages. That's right, three times your original damages.

I've always said the U.S. Code is a lot like the Bible. It's amazing what's in there once you take the time to read it.

Anonymous said...

That's also exactly what the liberals do. Use laws for things they were never intended for. I am conflicted though, because this is a war as TRKOF always says, so using their tactics against them is a fair tactic.

Chuck Martel said...

Actually, it's using the law exactly as it was intended. Take a look at 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a) which makes employment of unauthorized aliens unlawful.

18 U.S.C. § 1961(1) identifies this plus the forgery or use of all kinds of documents relating to work eligibility as “racketeering activity”. Then you hook them for civil RICO and you're in business.

Anonymous said...

Chuck,
I appreciate your knowledge of the law, but your clients pay you for that. Mine don't.

"...It's amazing what's in there once you take the time to read it. (the U.S. Code)"

Why should I, as an employer, bother to read it when the bureaucracies issue conflicting instructions? To wit:

FILLING OUT FORM I-9: Employee

The cited element of this instruction states "Providing the Social Security Number is voluntary..." Granted, that is only one item from List C, "Documents that Establish Employment Authorization", but how does one comply with IRS requirements for withholding without it?

As you are well aware, I am going to run afoul of some rule or regulation several times daily because mine is a very small company in the construction industry and I don't have the time to read all the rules nor the ability to comply with them all. Not only that, the thugs at EPA don't worry about the U.S. Code when drafting and implementing their regulations.

What I want is the ability to operate my company without the fear that some jackbooted bureaucrat will land on me with the sole intent of destroying my business and my life. That's not gonna happen without a radical realignment and reduction of the size of government. I don't expect to live long enough to see that happen. -- Skyhawker, Doug

Chuck Martel said...

The U.S. Code and the Code of Federal Regulations are two entirely different things.

It's like comparing apples and -- spaghetti.

I've come to the conclusion that federal bureaucracies like the SSA and the VA simply don't follow the rule of law. They see their job as screwing those they are supposed to help. After they get finished reading the newspaper, drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette, they do whatever they want. That's why suing them is so much fun and helps me sleep at night.

Anonymous said...

Point taken. Unfortunately, it's the CFR that keeps me ducking and weaving.

My plan for non-violent reduction of the size of government is to terminate immediately all of the bureaucratic agencies, commissions, administrations - by whatever title. The heads of those organizations can apply for reinstatement by citing where in the Constitution as originally written and legally amended, the justification for its existence can be found. Final determination is to be made by the states, with each state having exactly three votes to cast on each application and each of the persons charged with casting a vote shall be from a different demographic than the other two. I think that would be a show worth watching. - Skyhawker, Doug.

Chuck Martel said...

If I had been either Geo. Bush or BHO, one of the first things I would have was to put an empty cardboard box on SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue's desk, told to pack his crap and get out.

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