1. DOJ challenges UT law
2. GOP debate takes on issue
3. Illegals suspected in fires
4. AL city drops lawsuit
5. Armed illegals stalked BP

1.
Feds sue to block Utah immigration law
By Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune, November 22, 2011

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the Utah Legislature overstepped its authority when it passed a tough immigration law, arguing immigration enforcement is a federal duty.

"A patchwork of immigration laws is not the answer and will only create further problems in our immigration system," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "While we appreciate cooperation from states, which remains important, it is clearly unconstitutional for a state to set its own immigration policy."

Utah becomes the fourth state whose bid to crack down on illegal immigration has been challenged by the Justice Department. Previous lawsuits have been filed in Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina.

Specifically, the lawsuit challenges three sections of HB497 that require law enforcement to verify the legal status of those arrested for class A misdemeanors or felonies, allow the warrantless arrest of those suspected of being in the country illegally, and make it a crime to harbor or transport undocumented immigrants.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said laws like Utah’s divert law enforcement resources from the most serious threats "and undermines the vital trust between local jurisdictions and the communities they serve."

She said the department will focus enforcement efforts on "criminal aliens," recent border crossers and "egregious immigration law violators and employers who knowingly hire illegal labor."

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he has worked closely with the Justice Department and he had hoped it wouldn’t file the suit. But he said that Utah’s law was significantly different than the other laws that were challenged.

"We feel strongly that we made significant changes with our law compared to Arizona’s at the time," Shurtleff said. "We think the way our law is, with our changes, we think we can defend it, that we can prevail on this and have it held constitutional."

Shurtleff said during a visit from Justice Department lawyers last month there were discussions of changes that could be made to address the administration’s concerns, and he hopes the dispute can be resolved.

Ally Isom, the spokeswoman for Gov. Gary Herbert, who is named as the defendant in the lawsuit, said the Governor’s Office had only recently seen the complaint but believes the law is sound.

"We are confident the Legislature worked hard to craft a law that is constitutional and we’re also confident that it will withstand scrutiny and look forward to the court ruling in our favor," she said.
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http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/52972971-90/497-attorney-bill-depa...

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2.
Gingrich on Top of GOP Polls, Takes Big Risk Articulating Illegal Immigration Policy
FoxNews.com, November 23, 2011

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich threw down the gauntlet to conservative Republicans at Tuesday night's presidential debate, challenging his rivals to upend his argument against mass deportations of illegal immigrants while also taking a huge risk with the law-and-order GOP base.

The Republican presidential hopeful, who has sprung to the top of the polling charts in the past two weeks, warned against a policy that proposes deporting illegals who have been in the country for 25 years. Gingrich said he would not "expel" those who have come to the United States illegally if it happened decades ago.

And in an appeal to family values, he said long-residing illegal aliens shouldn't become citizens, but neither should they be torn apart from their families.

"I don't see how the party that says it's the party of family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families which have been here a quarter century and I'm prepared to take the heat for saying let's be humane in enforcing the law," he said.

Heat is what he got.

Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney both pounced on the suggestion, calling it a form of amnesty that attracts illegal immigration. Romney added that he wants to encourage immigration, especially among those educated at U.S. colleges.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the priority should be securing the border.

"The failure of the federal government to enforce immigration laws costs federal, state and local governments billions of dollars annually," Bachmann said in a statement released by her campaign while the debate was still ongoing.

"Our nation was founded on the rule of law, and we must ensure U.S. immigration laws are respected and enforced not only to preserve our national security, but to protect federal, state, and local budgets, and to curb the unfair strain on our country's job markets," she said.

Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee Chairman William Gheen predicted that Gingrich's campaign will “implode” as a result of his support for "DREAM Act Amnesty," just as Perry's campaign took a dive after the border-state governor described his support for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.

"Newt Gingrich's campaign will now take the 'Perry Plunge' due to his support for DREAM Act Amnesty," Gheen said in a written statement. "Newt Gingrich is finished!"
. . .
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/23/gingrich-on-top-gop-polls-tak...

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3.
Illegal immigrants suspected in 30 border fires in Arizona
Los Angeles Times, November 22, 2011

People entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico are believed responsible for more than one-third of human-ignited wildfires in Arizona over a five-year period, according to a government report that could stoke congressional debate over illegal immigration.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the Government Accountability Office report supports remarks he made earlier this year after his state was hit hard by wildfires. At the time, McCain was accused of "scapegoating" immigrants.

"I hope this report is a lesson to the activists and public officials that would prefer to engage in partisan character attacks rather than help focus the discussion on the vital need to secure our southern border," he said in a statement.

Illegal immigrants are believed to have started 30 of 77 fires that were investigated from 2006 through 2010, according to the report by the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress.

Federal land management agencies, however, did not investigate all 422 human-caused fires on federal and tribal land, as called for by federal policy.

"Only 18% of fires on federal land during the five-year study period were actually investigated, and thus, the number and size of fires linked to illegal border crossers may actually be higher," McCain said.

Of the 30 fires, nine burned more than 100 acres each, 16 burned 10 to 100 acres, and five burned fewer than 10 acres, according to the report.

Efforts to signal for help, provide warmth or cook food appear to be the source of the fires, according to the report. One 2006 fire that burned about 170 acres started after an injured border crosser signaled his need for help. The causes of some of the fires are not known, but the report noted that some occurred in areas known for drug smuggling.

"The presence of illegal border crossers has complicated fire suppression activities in the Arizona border region," the report said, adding that it has "increased concern about firefighter safety, and, in some instances, has required firefighters to change or limit the tactics they use in suppressing fires."
. . .
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/11/illegal-immigrants-bor...

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4.
Alabama city drops immigration law case against Mercedes executive
The Associated Press, November 23, 2011

The city of Tuscaloosa has dropped a charge against a German Mercedes-Benz executive who was arrested under Alabama's new crackdown on illegal immigration.

Tuscaloosa police arrested the man last week for not having proper citizenship documents while driving a rental car in the city.

City attorney Tim Nunnally tells The Tuscaloosa News (http://bit.ly/uJFvBJ ) that authorities dismissed the charge because an associate of the man was able to provide the documents to police.

Republicans who support the law say it will help create jobs for legal Alabama residents, but some business leaders say it could hurt economic development in the state by scaring away foreign companies.
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http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/c766b67cc79f4b488d1b67b9a7f2a241/A...

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5.
Armed illegals stalked Border Patrol
Mexicans were ‘patrolling’ when agent was slain, indictment says
By Jerry Seper
The Washington Times, November 22, 2011

Five illegal immigrants armed with at least two AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifles were hunting for U.S. Border Patrol agents near a desert watering hole known as Mesquite Seep just north of the Arizona-Mexico border when a firefight erupted and one U.S. agent was killed, records show.

A now-sealed federal grand jury indictment in the death of Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry says the Mexican nationals were “patrolling” the rugged desert area of Peck Canyon at about 11:15 p.m. on Dec. 14 with the intent to “intentionally and forcibly assault” Border Patrol agents.

At least two of the Mexicans carried their assault rifles “at the ready position,” one of several details about the attack showing that Mexican smugglers are becoming more aggressive on the U.S. side of the border.

According to the indictment, the Mexicans were “patrolling the area in single-file formation” a dozen miles northwest of the border town of Nogales and — in the darkness of the Arizona night — opened fire on four Border Patrol agents after the agents identified themselves in Spanish as police officers.

Two AK-47 assault rifles found at the scene came from the failed Fast and Furious operation.

Using thermal binoculars, one of the agents determined that at least two of the Mexicans were carrying rifles, but according to an affidavit in the case by FBI agent Scott Hunter, when the Mexicans did not drop their weapons as ordered, two agents used their shotguns to fire “less than lethal” beanbags at them.

At least one of the Mexicans opened fire and, according to the affidavit, Terry, a 40-year-old former U.S. Marine, was shot in the back. A Border Patrol shooting-incident report said that Terry called out, “I’m hit,” and then fell to the ground, a bullet having pierced his aorta. “I can’t feel my legs,” Terry told one of the agents who cradled him. “I think I’m paralyzed.”

Bleeding profusely, he died at the scene.

After the initial shots, two agents returned fire, hitting Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, 33, in the abdomen and leg. The others fled. The FBI affidavit said Osorio-Arellanes admitted during an interview that all five of the Mexicans were armed.

Peck Canyon is a notorious drug-smuggling corridor.

Osorio-Arellanes initially was charged with illegal entry, but that case was dismissed when the indictment was handed up. It named Osorio-Arellanes on a charge of second-degree murder, but did not identify him as the likely shooter, saying only that Osorio-Arellanes and others whose names were blacked out “did unlawfully kill with malice aforethought United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry while Agent Terry was engaged in … his official duties.”

The indictment also noted that Osorio-Arellanes had been convicted in Phoenix in 2006 of felony aggravated assault, had been detained twice in 2010 as an illegal immigrant, and had been returned to Mexico repeatedly.
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/22/armed-illegals-stalked-b...