local immigration policing

Scholars Sidebar: 287(g) counties lose immigrant farm labor & profitability

A recently released economic analysis suggests that counties that enact 287(g) programs lose immigrant agricultural workers and suffer decreased farm profitability, but state level 287(g) agreements don’t have the same impact. Genti Kostandini, Elton Mykerezi, and Cesar Escalante, The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on the Farming Sector (2012). The authors, economists at the University of Georgia and University of Minnesota, examined data from the American Community Survey and Census of Agriculture for states and counties, respectively, that entered into local immigration policing [...]

Scholars Sidebar: Immigrant Outsider, Alien Invader: Immigration Policing Today

I recently published an introduction to a group of essays about the reappearance of old fears about immigrants in today’s immigration policymaking. César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, Immigrant Outsider, Alien Invader: Immigration Policing Today, 48 California Western Law Review 231 (2012). Despite the unprecedented scope of today’s policing apparatus, I wrote (in the abstract), there is reason for hope: Immigration policing has become a high-tech, multi-pronged affair financed annually by billions of dollars of personnel and the tools of their trade: prisons, weapons, massive computer [...]

SCOTUS: 3 of 4 contested provisions of SB1070 are unconstitutional

The U.S. Supreme Court today released its much-anticipated opinion in Arizona v. United States, No. 11-182, slip op. 2-5 (U.S. June 25, 2012), the case concerning Arizona’s SB 1070 legislation. Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion that was joined by Justices Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor. Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito dissented in part and concurred in part. Justice Kagan did not participate in deliberations. Of the four SB 1070 provisions before the Court, only one survived constitutional challenge: the provision allowing state police officers to investigate the [...]

SCOTUS: Split decision on SB1070

The Supreme Court upheld part of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, Senate Bill 1070, in a split decision issued this morning. Arizona v. United States, slip op. (U.S. June 21, 2012) (Kennedy, Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor, JJ.). Justice Kagan did not participate in the decision.Unlike much of the media’s focus on whether SB 1070 is good policy and its impact, the justices focused on whether Arizona’s law is preempted by the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. Any provision deemed preempted is unconstitutional because, under the Supremacy Clause, federal law trumps state law. As [...]

Supreme Court hears Arizona immigration case tomorrow

After years of contentious debate, the Supreme Court will finally weigh in on the constitutionality of Arizona’s infamous immigration law, Senate Bill 1070, tomorrow. The justices will hear oral arguments in Arizona v. United States (No. 11-182), the state’s attempt to overturn a preliminary injunction granted against several of the statute’s provisions. There will undoubtedly be a bevy of news reports about tomorrow’s oral arguments (and I’ll be sure to post a link to the arguments when a recording becomes available). Unlike much of the media’s focus, however, the justices are likely to [...]

Report: S-Comm in LA doesn’t live up to its hype

Researchers at the University of California-Irvine recently added another jurisdiction to the list where the “Secure Communities” program is not meeting DHS’s stated priorities: Los Angeles County. Edgar Aguilasocho, David Rodwin, and Sameer Ashar, Misplaced Priorities: The Failure of Secure Communities in Los Angeles County (Jan. 2012). Aguilasocho, Rodwin, and Ashar report that DHS’s signature program is ensnaring many individuals without a criminal conviction, people with convictions for minor crimes, and individuals with old convictions who pose no threat to the community. Misplaced [...]

4 Cir: Calling ICE during routine traffic stop doesn’t violate 4th Amendment

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit determined that no unconstitutional seizure occurred where a local police officer took time to call ICE to verify the authenticity of a permanent residence card during an otherwise routine traffic stop. United States v. Guijon-Ortiz, No. 10-4518, slip op. (4th Cir. Nov. 10 2011) (Gregory, Davis, and Keith, JJ.). Judge Davis wrote panel’s opinion. This case involved a stop by a West Virginia sheriff’s deputy of a pickup truck traveling at 66 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone. After trailing the truck for some undisclosed time, [...]

8 Cir: Warrantless arrest isn’t egregious 4th Amend violation meriting suppression

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rejected a non-citizen’s attempt to exclude evidence of his identity obtained after a warrantless arrest. Garcia-Torres v. Holder, No. 10-2307, slip op. (8th Cir. 2011) (Loken, Colloton, and Nelson, JJ.). District Judge Nelson, sitting by designation on the Eighth Circuit, wrote the panel’s opinion. This case involved an entrant without inspection who was present at a Missouri restaurant that local police officers “acting on a tip that alcohol was being consumed in violation of a local ordinance” entered without a warrant. Garcia-Torres, No. [...]