Federal Judge Blocks Texas Immigration Law
by Big Dog on May 22, 2007 at 07:50 Immigration
A Federal Judge blocked the law enacted in Farmer’s Branch Texas that would require the immigration status of people who wanted to rent a place to live. U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay wrote:
Only the federal government can determine whether a person is in the United States legally
If this is true, why do employers have to get several types of documentation to prove a person is a US citizen before hiring that person? If it is the federal government’s job and only they can determine who is here legally, then how is it employers are allowed to determine who is here legally? The judge said it was not up to the states to do the federal government’s job. The law on this generally indicates that states and their law enforcement are allowed to enforce the criminal statutes such as catching someone actually coming in ILLEGALLY or finding someone smuggling in ILLEGALS but that just being here is a civil matter, not a criminal one and the federal government has exclusive rights to enforce the civil statutes. Interestingly, some of the statutes start off “Any person who knowingly…” If you are not allowed to check immigration status, how can you knowingly assist ILLEGALS? Seems ambiguous to me.
It also seems to me that if a person is here ILLEGALLY then they broke a criminal law regardless of whether their presence is just a civil matter. Why can’t local law enforcement arrest them for coming here ILLEGALLY (the criminal act) and let the federal government worry about the fact that are here (the civil part). It only makes logical sense that if a person is here ILLEGALLY then he committed a criminal act to do it. A police office may arrest a person who robbed a bank three years ago even though that officer did not catch the criminal in the act. Why can’t the same police officer arrest a person whose presence indicates that he committed a criminal act?
Perhaps states should take a different approach to this. There are certain documents required to get a job. I was born and raised in this country and every job I have ever taken required me to show these forms of identification to prove I was a citizen or here legally. Why don’t states enact laws that require these documents in order to rent a place to live or buy property. States do not have to say it is for immigration, they can just require the exact same items the federal government does for jobs as appropriate ID in order to rent or buy. When a person rents or buys he has to show ID. The folks renting or selling (especially banks) like to know the identity of the person with whom they are doing business. Each state could just enact a law indicating that these items are the only acceptable ones for identification. Maybe states could pass a law stating that in order to be in the state legally a person has to be in the country legally and then they would have the legal authority to check immigration status. I don’t know, but something needs to be done.
The federal government has hamstrung the states and it is those states that are paying for the ineptitude of the federal government. This is why there was a push to criminalize just being here. that way, states could handle the immigration problem. Of course, this was opposed by all the folks who see the inadequacies in the law as a method by which to circumvent the system.
Maybe the federal government and its lawyers are the only ones who can determine if a person is in the US legally but it should be a state’s right to determine if a person is in that state legally. It only makes sense if the will of the people is to be honored.
Other Source:
CRS Report for Congress (pdf)
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