Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion points to a Leadership by the Wilfully Ignorant
Holder apparently also had not read a standing Justice Department memo setting forth the DOJ’s official position that states have the inherent power to enforce the federal immigration laws:
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 The Obama administration has not withdrawn the memo, and some backers of the Arizona law said Monday that because it remains in place, a Justice Department lawsuit against Arizona would be awkward at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.
LaShawn points out,
And he’ll have to sue California as well. According to the state penal code, “Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws,” and attempt to “verify the legal status of such person as a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of immigration laws.”
Never mind that Federal law requires that permanent residents carry their green cards all the time.
No, doesn’t look like Eric’s been reading up.
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