OpenBorders backlash begins:Federal Judge Blocks Portion of Georgia Immigration Law

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Federal Judge Blocks Portion of Georgia Immigration Law
ATLANTA -- A federal judge on Monday blocked parts of Georgia's law cracking down on illegal immigration from taking effect until a legal challenge is resolved.
Judge Thomas Thrash granted a request to block parts of the law that penalize people who knowingly and willingly transport or harbor illegal immigrants while committing another crime. He also blocked provisions that authorize officers to verify the immigration status of someone who can't provide proper identification.
Thrash wrote that under parts of the law, the state is enforcing immigration law that should be left to the federal government.
Thrash also dismissed parts of the lawsuit at the state's request.
Most parts of the law were set to enter into effect July 1. Civil liberties groups had filed a lawsuit asking the judge to declare the law unconstitutional and to block it from being enforced.
Thrash on June 20 heard arguments from both sides on the civil liberties groups' request to block the law and the state's request to dismiss the lawsuit. He grilled Senior Assistant Attorney General Devon Orland, with the exchange sometimes bordering on testy.
Omar Jadwat with the American Civil Liberties Union argued the law is fundamentally unconstitutional and infringes on federal authority, while Orland said the measure is needed because medical facilities and prisons are being strained by illegal immigrants.
The civil liberties groups argue the law is unconstitutional and could encourage racial profiling. Provisions that penalize people for harboring and transporting illegal immigrants in certain situations also have the potential to punish people for innocent interactions with illegal immigrants, the groups have said.
Georgia's law has some provisions that echo those in a law enacted last year in Arizona and is also similar to another enacted this year in Utah.
A federal judge blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona's law last year after the U.S. Department of Justice sued, arguing the law intrudes on the federal government's exclusive powers to regulate immigration. A federal appeals court judge upheld the decision and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has said she plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ACLU and other civil liberties groups filed a complaint claiming that the Utah law was an unconstitutional burden to legal immigrants and too much like portions of Arizona's immigration law. A federal judge last month temporarily blocked that law, citing similarities to the most controversial parts of Arizona's law. A hearing is set for mid-July to determine if the law can go into effect.
Another section of the Georgia law set to be phased in starting in January will require many businesses to check the immigration status of new hires. An Arizona law with the same requirement was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...#ixzz1QVPDMwEE

ACLU to contest SC immigration law
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union said it plans to lead a court challenge to a new anti-illegal immigration measure that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley plans to sign into law on Monday.
South Carolina is joining a handful of other states that have toughened or passed immigration laws similar to Arizona's, which allows police to check immigration status.
State ACLU Director Victoria Middleton said her group and other organizations will join to challenge the new law sometime before it takes effect in January.
"It invites racial profiling," Middleton said. "And it basically will subject anyone who looks or sounds foreign to discrimination."
Middleton said the legislation goes further than those in Arizona and other states by creating a new law enforcement mechanism.
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing to block similar laws in Arizona, Utah, Indiana, and Georgia. It is also planning to sue in Alabama.
The GOP-dominated House gave the legislation final approval last week with a 69-43 vote. House Speaker Bobby Harrell said the state was stepping into a void because the federal government "refuses to effectively support our law enforcement officers by enforcing immigration laws."
South Carolina's illegal immigration law was considered one of the nation's toughest when it was first passed in 2008. But legislators have been criticized for failing to put money into enforcing the law. The spending plan on Haley's desk for vetoes now includes $1.3 million toward for the law enforcement unit.
The bill Haley said she will sign requires officers to call federal immigration officials if they suspect someone is in the country illegally. The question must follow an arrest or traffic stop for something else. Police can't hold someone solely for suspicion of their immigration status.
The bill also makes it a felony for someone to make fake photo IDs for illegal residents — punishable by a $25,000 fine and five years in prison — and creates a new law enforcement unit within the Department of Public Safety to enforce state immigration laws.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/A...#ixzz1QVPa7fb4


Ala. city votes on condemning new immigration law
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Birmingham city councilors will soon vote on a resolution that would condemn a new law in Alabama targeting illegal immigrants as inhumane.
The resolution by Council President Roderick Royal asks lawmakers to repeal the law and create a commission that could recommend other options. The Birmingham News reports that a vote is scheduled for Tuesday.
Royal said the law is mean-spirited and "morally unacceptable."
The law requires proof of legal residence to get a job, enroll in school or obtain state benefits. It allows police officers to demand proof of citizenship or residency from anyone they stop if there's reason to suspect the person is in the country illegally. It also requires employers to use an electronic database to make sure new hires can work legally.
http://www.necn.com/06/27/11/Ala-cit...f02daca5d1315f