From April 28, 2008 The Kansas City Star’s editorial board published an opinion piece today making the obvious but overlooked observation that the recent trend of state and local governments passing anti-immigrant measures takes the pressure off of federal politicians to do their duty to pass legislative reforms to address national problems. The editorial board […]
Arizona governor vetoes immigration enforcement measure
From April 28, 2008 Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a measure today that would have required local law enforcement to work with federal authorities on immigration enforcement. I agree with the Arizona governor. She’s right. State and local law enforcement should stay out of immigration as your state and local tax revenues are being used […]
The problem with marching for immigrant rights
From April 27, 2008 A Chicago Tribune news story talks about how interest among the various immigrant communities for marches for reasonable immigration reform has waned. The huge marches of recent years were a short term success but a long term failure. They were a success in that they put a lot of bodies on […]
Immigration detainers
From March 23, 2008 One area that I’ve found few attorneys understand is the process (and legality) of when law enforcement holds an undocumented foreign national for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Local and state law enforcement officials generally cannot arrest foreign nationals for immigration violations absent a memorandum of understanding being in place between […]
From March 23, 2008 One area that I’ve found few attorneys understand is the process (and legality) of when law enforcement holds an undocumented foreign national for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Local and state law enforcement officials generally cannot arrest foreign nationals for immigration violations absent a memorandum of understanding being in place between […]
House Bill 1804 similar to 1930s ‘Anti-Okie Law’
From October 30, 2007 I participated in a press conference yesterday regarding House Bill 1804, which even though it is ethnicity neutral on its face is understood by almost everyone to be anti Mexican as some Oklahomans do not like the influx of persons of Mexican heritage (legal or otherwise). According to Wikipedia: In 1937, […]
LA Times story says ramping up enforcement will hurt economy
From August 11, 2007 A story in the Los Angeles Times says that the ramping up of immigration enforcement will damage the economy. WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff predicted painful economic fallout from the array of immigration enforcement measures the administration unveiled Friday in an attempt to choke off the jobs “magnet” that […]
From July 30, 2007 The Daily Oklahoman published a story today about an alleged illegal horse racing operation in southern Oklahoma, just north of the Texas border. The story began: THACKERVILLE – More than 200 state law enforcement officers swooped down late Sunday afternoon on a horse racetrack where illegal betting is suspected and arrested […]
A comment on House Bill 1804
From July 23, 2007 Governor Brad Henry signed House Bill 1804 on May 8, 2007. The new law, which goes into effect on November 1, 2007, is known as the “Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizenship Protection Act of 2007.” The new law finds that illegal immigration is causing lawlessness and economic hardship in Oklahoma. The first […]
You cannot buy your way into an Indian tribe
From July 22, 2007 I get asked by a foreign national if one can buy his or her way into an Indian tribe in hopes of eventually obtaining a permanent resident card. The answer: No. Generally, you can only obtain membership in an Indian tribe by being born to one or more Native American parents […]