Immigration Enforcement by State & Local Authorities

• Resources for Advocates

• State & Local
   - Litigation
   - Legislation & Resolutions

• Federal
   - Litigation
   - Legislation

• Immigrants' Rights Update Articles

• see also: Immigrants & Employment > State & Local: Legislation, Litigation, and Resources

• see also: Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Resources for Advocates

FROM NILC

More Questions Than Answers about the Secure Communities Program.  "Secure Communities" applies to immigrants regardless of their guilt or innocence, how or why they were arrested, and whether or not their arrests were based on racial or ethnic profiling or were just a pretext for checking immigration status.  ICE fact sheets and press releases leave many critical questions unanswered.  (3/09)

Administration Announces Harsh New Immigration Measures (article) and List of announced measures: "Improving Border Security and Immigration Within Existing Law" (Depts. of Homeland Security & Commerce, 8/10/07)

Facts About Federal Preemption: How to analyze whether state and local initiatives are an unlawful attempt to enforce federal immigration law or regulate immigration (PDF) (6/28/07)

Introduction & Background: Sample Language for Policies Limiting the Enforcement of Immigration Law by Local Authorities (11/04)(PDF)

Sample Language for Policies Limiting the Enforcement of Immigration Laws by Local Authorities (11/04) (PDF)

• appendix a: Sample Language for Policies Limiting the Enforcement of Immigration Law by Local Authorities (11/04) (PDF)

FROM ENTITIES OTHER THAN NILC

The State Immigration Project of the Progressive States Network ("Working with allied labor, civil rights, religious, and community organizations, the . . . State Immigration Project . . . will support state legislative leaders and advocates in challenging the rising anti-immigrant movement at the state level.")

• The Anti-Immigrant Movement that Failed: Positive Integration Policies by States Still Far Outweigh Punitive Policies Aimed at New Immigrants (9/08)

State and Local Police Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws: A Toolkit for Advocates (AILA, MALDEF, NCLR, NIF, NILC, 3/06)

Police Chiefs Guide to Immigration Issues (International Association of Chiefs of Police, 7/07)

Major Cities [Law Enforcement] Chiefs' statement on enforcement of immigration law by local agencies  (From the 6/8/06 news release accompanying the statement:  "Members of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, comprised of the largest police agencies in America, are the first responders to over fifty million residents. We are very concerned that the public policy [currently] under consideration [in the U.S. Congress] does not take into full account the realities of local law enforcement in dealing with this issue on the ground.")

• M.C.C. Immigration Committee Recommendations for Enforcement of Immigration Laws by Local Police Agencies (6/06)

State & Local

LITIGATION (STATE & LOCAL)

• State of Louisiana v. Omar Barrientos, No. 06-1726 (La. 24th Jud. Dist. Ct. Jefferson Parish Jan. 31, 2007).  Court finds that the Louisiana DWLP statute constitutes "an impermissible attempt to regulate immigration and conflicts with federal immigration law."

• State of Louisiana v. Juan Herrera, No. 467-763 “K” (La. Crim. Dist. Ct. Orleans Parish Feb. 1, 2007).  Court finds that "the defendant's arrest pursuant to LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 was made without probable cause, because it was the result of a selective enforcement policy profiling, targeting and arresting Latino drivers."

• see also:  "Louisiana Courts Dismiss Charges under Law Prohibiting Driving without Lawful Presence, Citing Preemption and Enforcement Problems," Immigrants' Rights Update, 4/25/07.

LEGISLATION & RESOLUTIONS (STATE & LOCAL)

The Anti-Immigrant Movement that Failed: Positive Integration Policies by States Still Far Outweigh Punitive Policies Aimed at New Immigrants (Progressive States Network, 9/08)

TABLE: Laws, Resolutions, and Policies Instituted Across the U.S. Limiting Enforcement of Immigration Laws by State and Local Authorities (updated 12/3/08)

TABLE: 2005 State Legislation Restricting Benefits for Immigrants or Promoting State and Local Enforcement of Immigration Laws  (posted under "State-Funded Benefit Programs")
 

Federal

LITIGATION (FEDERAL)

AGAINST CITY OF FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS
Villas at Parkside Partners v. City of Farmers Branch

Memorandum Opinion and Order Granting Permanent Injunction (Federal district court finds that a local ordinance restricting immigrants' access to housing is preempted by federal law and violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.) (5/28/08)

Memorandum Opinion and Order (Court lacks jurisdiction to consider defendants' proposed counterclaim.) (5/28/08)

Memorandum Opinion and Order Granting Preliminary Injunction (6/19/07)
 

AGAINST CITY OF HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA
Lozano, et al. v. City of Hazleton

Federal Court Strikes Down Discriminatory Anti-Immigrant Law in Hazleton, Pennsylvania (link is to ACLU of Pennsylvania website).  "In the first trial decision of its kind, a federal court has declared unconstitutional a local ordinance that sought to punish landlords and employers for doing business with undocumented immigrants."  (7/26/07)

Decision in Lozano v. City of Hazleton, No. 3:06cv1586 (M.D. Pa. July 26, 2007).

Appeal (by Hazleton) to Third Circuit Court of Appeals

• Brief of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity at University of California, Berkeley Law School as Amicus Curiae in Support of the Plaintiffs-Appellees, Supporting Affirmance. 
    SUMMARY: "[R]esearch shows that notions of illegality are strongly correlated with a specific racial profile and that this phenomenon is exacerbated within communities, like Hazleton, which have experienced rapid demographic change with the arrival of Latinos.  This backlash . . . has resulted in increased alienation [among] U.S.-born and naturalized Latinos. Documented harms . . . include a lack of trust in government entities and a potential increase in hate crimes. . . . [O]rdinances such as Hazleton’s fuel racial divisions and create barriers to integration for a large segment of the population.  As such, they are not only unlawful but bad public policy."

LEGISLATION (FEDERAL)

Summary of the Homeland Security Enhancement Act of 2005 (S. 1362) (6/30/05)(PDF)

Summary of the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act of 2005 (HR 3137) (6/30/05)(PDF)

Summary of the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act of 2003 (HR 2671) (7/31/03)(PDF)

Immigrants' Rights Update Articles (back to IRU index)

L.A. County to Enter Limited MOU with ICE to Permit Immigration Enforcement at County Jail (2/10/05)

Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Court of Nev., Humboldt Cty. | Supreme Court upholds state law requiring individuals to identify themselves when asked during investigative stop (7/04)

Homeland Security Enhancement Act Provisions Spark Sharp Disagreement (5/20/04)

National Council of La Raza, et al v. Ashcroft | Lawsuit Filed to Enjoin Entry of Immigration Records into FBI's Crime Database (2/17/04 )

Senate State/Local Immigration Enforcement Bill Goes Further Than House "Clear Act" Bill (12/18/03) (Posted under "Congressional Developments")

Alabama State Troopers Said to Receive "Clear Authority" in Civil Immigration Enforcement (11/24/03)

CLEAR Act Introduced: Sweeping Legislation Would Require Local Police to Enforce Immigration Law (9/4/03)

Justice Dept. Order Exempts Crime Database from Accuracy Requirement (6/3/03)

Seattle Adopts Ordinance Preventing Inquiries on Immigration Status (2/21/03)

Farm Labor Organizing Committee v. Ohio State Highway Patrol | 6th Circuit Upholds Ruling against Ohio Trooper Who Seized Green Cards (11/22/02)

Policies to Permit Police to Enforce Immigration Law Could Undermine Public Safety, Violate Civil Rights (11/22/02)

INS and Florida Enter MOU to Allow State Officers to Enforce Immigration Law (9/10/02)

Justice Dept. Contemplates Extending Immigration Enforcement Responsibilities to State and Local Agencies (4/12/02)