State And Local Law Enforcement Officials Have "Inherent Power" To Enforce Immigration Laws...So Says Obama Administration

OK, that Obama administration part of the headline is a bit misleading. The policy memo was written during the Bush administration but it hasn't been withdrawn in the last 12+ months and it stands as official policy.

The document, written in 2002 by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, concluded that state police officers have "inherent power" to arrest undocumented immigrants for violating federal law. It was issued by Jay S. Bybee, who also helped write controversial memos from the same era that sanctioned harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects.

The author of the Arizona law — which has drawn strong opposition from top Obama administration officials — has cited the authority granted in the 2002 memo as a basis for the legislation. The Obama administration has not withdrawn the memo, and some backers of the Arizona law said Monday that because it remains in place, a Justice Department lawsuit against Arizona would be awkward at best.

"The Justice Department's official position as of now is that local law enforcement has the inherent authority to enforce federal immigration law," said Robert Driscoll, a former Justice Department Civil Rights Division official in the George W. Bush administration who represents an Arizona sheriff known for aggressive immigration enforcement. "How can you blame someone for exercising authority that the department says they have?"

...The 2002 opinion, known as the "inherent authority" memo, reversed a 1996 Office of Legal Counsel opinion from the Clinton administration. "This Office's 1996 advice that federal law precludes state police from arresting aliens on the basis of civil deportability was mistaken," says the 2002 memo, which was released publicly in redacted form in 2005 after civil rights groups sued to obtain it.

Office of Legal Counsel documents do not have the force of law but carry great weight within the executive branch and are considered to be the Justice Department's official position on a legal or constitutional issue.

Oops.

Follow the link above for a video of the State Department spokesman admitting he hasn't read the bill while defending the China kowtow. Good stuff.

Meanwhile, a member of the Arizona public utilities board sent a letter to the mayor of LA asking if he's feeling lucky.

If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation. I am confident that Arizona’s utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands. If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona’s economy.

To complete the day, Sarah Palin piles on officials who don't read laws before they attack them and weasel Americans who apologize to tyrants.

For all the damage I think the liberal opposition and hysteria will do them in the political arena, eventually they will win. Why? The courts will rule for the illegals and against the state. Too bad we live in a country where the will of the people is nothing more than a first draft for the real powers that be...judges.

posted by DrewM. at 03:58 PM

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