1. DOJ files injunction against AL
2. State laws could effect Fed law
3. Perry touts policy record
4. CA Gov. signs 'Dream Act'
5. RI Gov. mulls lax DL laws

1.
Alabama Immigration Law Challenged Again: U.S. Government Seeks Injunction
By Dan Rivoli
The International Buisness Times, October 9, 2011

The Obama administration's challenge to a strict Alabama immigration law escalated when the U.S. Department of Justice requested a federal appeals court to block the law from going into effect.

The Justice Department's bid for an injunction on a law it says steps on federal authority over immigration follows a judge's ruling that upheld the harshest provisions.

Lawyers in the Justice Department asked the appeals court to hear its argument quickly, as Hispanic immigrants and families are reportedly fleeing Alabama or taking their children out of school.

"The balance of harms and the public interest strongly mitigate in favor of an injunction pending appeal," the Justice Department wrote in a Friday filing with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. "The statute has the purpose, and has already begun to have the effect, of driving aliens from the State of Alabama, thus imposing burdens on other states."

A picture illustration shows a 100 Dollar banknote laying on various denomination euro banknotesEuropean Banks and Dexia Breakup: The Scary Math Behind Them

Alabama, along with other states including Georgia and Arizona, has implemented a law this year to make life for illegal immigrants difficult. Supporters of these laws say they are addressing an illegal immigrant problem in their state created by the federal government's inaction.

In Alabama, the law forces immigrants to carry registration documents, makes leasing property to illegal immigrants a crime, prohibits them from soliciting work, invalidates their contracts and requires local law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of those arrested or detained.

The law also requires public schools to determine a student's immigration status upon enrollment, as well as their parents' status. Illegal immigrants can still attend public school, but the data compiled and sent to the state.

The U.S. filed suit against Alabama, but U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Blackburn Sept, 28 upheld provisions requiring the collection of school children's status, preventing courts from enforcing contracts involving illegal immigrants and forcing police officers from holding suspected illegal immigrants without bond.
. . .
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/227787/20111009/alabama-immigration-law-...

********
********

2.
Alabama immigration law could push federal government in new direction
By Brian Lawson
The Huntsville Times, October 10, 2011

Huntsville, AL - Through the years, Alabama has been pushed by the federal government, through the courts, to make changes to its laws.

But in the debate over the state's immigration law, it may be Alabama that pulls federal law in a new direction.

The federal courts are still looking at immigration laws in Arizona, Georgia, Indiana and Utah. And South Carolina's immigration law is set to go into effect Jan. 1.

The patchwork approach that the Justice Department has argued against in court filings seems to be gaining speed.

And the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn last month to leave in place key provisions of Alabama's law, where similar measures had been blocked by other federal courts, certainly raises the stakes.

In court filings last week, the Justice Department said there is no room under federal law for a state to enact a separate immigration law enforcement system. Judge Blackburn rejected that argument in late September.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will take up requests this week to block Alabama law.

But that won't be the last word, either way. Mark McDaniel, a well-known Huntsville attorney, said he expects Alabama's law will wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court. Sponsors of the bill, including Alabama Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, have said they expect to go to the Supreme Court and win.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California has already ruled 2-1 that Arizona's law is unconstitutional. If the 11th Circuit declines to block the law this week, or even more significantly, if the court finds later that Alabama's law is constitutional, there would be at least two sets of standards for immigration law enforcement in the U.S.

That is a scenario that is unlikely to last very long, said John Carroll, a former federal judge and dean of Cumberland Law School.

"The easiest way to get the Supreme Court to take a case is if there is split in the circuits," Carroll said. "You've got the 9th in California, the 11th for Alabama and Georgia, plus the 7th in Indiana, and the 4th in South Carolina. If they all rule the same across the board, it may not reach the Supreme Court.

"But it's a huge issue of public importance and a huge issue of allocation of power."

Advocates for the law and advocates for immigrant rights groups tend to agree on one thing: Immigration law reform is needed. But given the strong feelings on both sides of the issue, Congress hasn't done much about the problem in recent years. The burgeoning state effort to police immigration may change that, said Kevin Johnson, an immigration law expert and dean of the University of California Davis School of Law.

"The ferment among the states on immigration - as well as the conflicting court decisions - may ultimately provoke Congress to act on comprehensive immigration reform," Johnson said. "It seems to me that the state immigration laws keep coming and will continue to come until the Supreme Court narrowly circumscribes the state's role in immigration enforcement or Congress enacts comprehensive immigration reform."

Since Blackburn's ruling, Alabama has been in the national spotlight as the immigration law has rolled out. The reports of children being withdrawn from school, long lines to renew car tags and crops not being picked, were answered by Gov. Robert Bentley's stated determination to defend and fully enforce the law.

Alabama legislators passed the far-reaching immigration law this year using the argument that the federal government has not done enough to pursue illegal immigrants in the state. The move also fulfilled a campaign promise made by Republicans who successfully captured control of the Alabama House and Senate for the first time since 1874. In Alabama and across the country the measure has plenty of vocal supporters.

Alabama Rep. Mike Ball, R-Huntsville, said the law tries to address the lack of work available for Alabama residents who don't have a special skill but are willing to work. Those kinds of jobs, he said, have been taken away by illegal immigrants willing to work for less money.

Ball also said much of the controversy is overblown, and issues like school departures are less about pulling children out of school in fear and instead a sign families are leaving the state.

"It just took effect a couple of weeks ago, and long-term we don't know what the effects will be," Ball said. "It certainly is sweeping change, and any time sweeping change happens it takes time for the market to adjust and changes to be made. A lot of the reaction is an overreaction, I believe.
. . .
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/alabama_immigration_law_could.html

********
********

3.
Perry talks up immigration credentials
By Jason Clayworth
The Des Moines Register, October 8, 2011

Spencer, IA – Rick Perry used his two-day Iowa swing that ended here today to address head-on his perceived weakness on immigration, a tactic that GOP operatives said is a smart campaign strategy and one that is even necessary to save his campaign.

“Nobody’s got a stronger record on immigration than myself,” Perry told a crowd when speaking at a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Spencer.

And, in an exclusive interview with The Des Moines Register, Perry said the issue has peaked because the legitimate concern of the American people.

“Americans are more and more concerned about their safety and they’re more and more concerned about these drugs that are coming into their communities and one of the reasons is because of the federal government’s complete and absolute lack of support to of states and to this country to secure the border,” Perry said.

Perry, the governor of Texas and a 2012 GOP presidential candidate, has taken several hard political knocks in the past few weeks, partly stemming from his support behind the 2001 “Texas Dream Act.”

The act allows immigrants in Texas who have graduated from high school and lived in the state for three years to go to college paying in-state tuition. Four of 183 legislators voted against the measure.

The issue has become a point made by critics to question Perry’s commitment to immigration reform.

Perry brought up his stand on immigration at each of the four events he held over his two-day swing, making it a central point of his talks.

He outlined how he signed into law an act requiring voter IDs, which advocates say helps retain the integrity of voting systems. And he reiterated his advocacy for more security on the border, including building fences in strategic areas.

Perry did not, however, bring up the Texas Dream Act on his own. However, a member in Sioux City asked him if he intended to institute the in-state tuition policy on a nationwide basis should he become president.

He answered a definitive no, telling the crowd that it is a decision each state must make on their own. But Perry also took the opportunity to publicly defend the 10-year-old act.

“We decided as state in 2001 that to deal with this population we had one of two choices,” Perry said to a group of about 100 people at a campaign stop at McCarthy and Bailey’s Irish Pub. “We could either kick them to the side of the road and say ‘We’ll deal with you as a tax waster’ or we’re going to give them the opportunity to pursue citizenship, to pay in-state tuition – full-fare, not subsidized in any form or fashion – and be part of an educated workforce.”
. . .
http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/10/08/perry-uses-iowa-tour-to...

********
********

4.
Perry Brown Signs Key Immigration Reform Bill
The State Column, October 09, 2011

California Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Dream Act into law on Saturday. The law is an effort to grant educational opportunities to qualified students regardless of their immigration status. “Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking. The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us,” Brown said via a press release.

The California Dream Act is a combination of AB 131 and AB 130. AB 131, signed into law today, gives qualified students who are trying to legalize their immigration status the ability to apply for financial help such as Cal Grants and other forms of state aid. AB 130, signed into law on July 25 of this year, gave students in the same category access to financial aid from private sources.

According to the California Department of Finance, 2,500 students will qualify for Cal Grants due to AB 131. This will cost the state $14.5 million. However, the Cal Grant program has $1.4 billion in funding which means that only 1 percent of the funds will be used to pay for the additional 2,500 students.
. . .
http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/brown-immigration-reform/

********
********

5.
R.I. slashes restrictions on illegal immigrants
By Maria Sacchetti
The Boston Globe, October 8, 2011

Governor Lincoln D. Chafee, who took office in January, has dismantled Rhode Island’s vigorous campaign against illegal immigration in recent months, ditching the E-verify system for checking workers’ status, revoking the State Police’s authority to enforce federal immigration laws, and leading a campaign that last week granted in-state tuition to unauthorized immigrants. He is even considering driver’s licenses for immigrants living here illegally.

The stunning turnaround reflects the fickle nature of immigration politics in a state that still remains deeply divided over the issue, with critics vowing to fight Chafee’s actions. But it is also a lesson in the growing power of the Latino vote, and how an unlikely alliance between immigrants and Chafee, a risk-taking blueblood politician, tipped the scales and propelled Rhode Island in a new direction.

“The big thing was that it wasn’t working,’’ Chafee said in an interview yesterday, describing his predecessor’s efforts to curb illegal immigration. “The idea was that it would help us with our economy. It didn’t accomplish that.’’

One of his first acts in office was to rescind a 2008 order by the previous governor, Governor Donald Carcieri, that sought to reduce the estimated 20,000 to 40,000 illegal immigrants in Rhode Island and lessen what he called a burden on state resources. The order required state agencies and contractors to use E-verify, a federal service that verifies a person’s eligibility to work, and deputized several State Police troopers to help enforce immigration law, among other provisions.

Chafee said that instead of boosting the economy, the policies alienated the state’s Latino population, which has grown more than 40 percent in the past decade and includes significant numbers of immigrants. He said the state was unfairly blaming immigrants for the bleak economy.

The son of a governor and the descendant of one of Rhode Island’s founding families, Chafee would appear to have little in common with illegal immigrants flowing in mostly from Latin America, except for a $50 fine he got in 1977 for illegally working as a blacksmith in Canada.

But immigrants said Chafee listened to their concerns during his campaign last year, when the former Republican US senator, who ran as an independent, said he would rescind Carcieri’s order and fight for a path to citizenship for those here illegally.

He won a three-way race for governor with just 36 percent of the vote, and though less than a tenth of Rhode Island voters are Latinos, he said they probably pushed him over the top. Latinos also had a decisive role in other close races, and in the election of Providence’s first Latino mayor, Harvard-educated Angel Taveras.

Chafee’s critics say the debate is far from over. This week, about 500 protesters rallied at the State House to protest the unanimous Sept. 26 decision by the Board of Governors for Higher Education to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, and vowed to overturn it before the rule takes effect in September 2012.

“Rhode Island didn’t change, just the administration changed,’’ said Terry Gorman, executive director of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, who attended the rally. He added, “We’re going to challenge this.’’

The Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University says the new rule will bring in about $162,000 annually while only affecting about 100 illegal immigrants a year. Now, undocumented students pay nonresident tuition that is more than double the cost. Resident tuition at the University of Rhode Island is $10,556 a year, compared with $27,262 a year for nonresidents.
. . .
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2011/10/08/in_rho...