Three out of four ain't bad

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 25 affirmed a Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals decision, which agreed with a lower court decision to block four provisions of Arizona's immigration laws.
The high court determined that three sections involving alien registration, employment, and detention were pre-empted by federal law or Congress occupying the field of law.
Section 3 makes failure to comply with federal alien-registration requirements a state misdemeanor; §5(C)makes it a misdemeanor for an unauthorized alien to seek or engage in work in the State; §6 authorizes state and local officers to arrest without a warrant a person “the officer has probable cause to believe . . . has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the United States”; and §2(B) requires officers conducting a stop, detention, or arrest to make efforts, in some circumstances, to verify the person’s immigration status with the Federal Government.
The Supreme Court said section 2(B) was not yet ripe for review because it had not gone into effect, and no one knows how local law enforcement will implement it.
So what about Alabama's "toughest in the nation" immigration law? They are a lot tougher than Arizona's, and will probably go down to a lot harder defeat, particularly because the laws are not making aliens "self-deport" and are not helping the state's economy.  Unemployment is up, and there are sectors in the economy such as home-building and construction that are way, way up, thanks to our tough Republican-dominated Legislature, which promised us that our economy would improve if we just got rid of the illegals (read that Hispanics).  Alabama farmers might say, "With friends like these, who needs enemies?"
And I didn't mention Alabama's stellar Republican initiative, a brand new voter ID law!  Dumbass white boys at it again.

DHS announces deferred action on some young illegal aliens

    Today (June 15, 2012), Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced a new policy with regard to young people who are illegally present in the United States.
Effective immediately, certain young people who were brought to the United States as young children, do not present a risk to national security or public safety, and meet several key criteria will be considered for relief from removal from the country or from entering into removal proceedings. Those who demonstrate that they meet the criteria will be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and will be eligible to apply for work authorization.

“Our nation’s immigration laws must be enforced in a firm and sensible manner,” said Secretary Napolitano. “But they are not designed to be blindly enforced without consideration given to the individual circumstances of each case. Nor are they designed to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language. Discretion, which is used in so many other areas, is especially justified here.”

DHS continues to focus its enforcement resources on the removal of individuals who pose a national security or public safety risk, including immigrants convicted of crimes, violent criminals, felons, and repeat immigration law offenders. Today’s action further enhances the Department’s ability to focus on these priority removals.

Under this directive, individuals who demonstrate that they meet the following criteria will be eligible for an exercise of discretion, specifically deferred action, on a case by case basis:

1. Came to the United States under the age of 16;
2. Have continuously resided in the United States for a least five years preceding the date of this memorandum and are present in the United States on the date of this memorandum;
3. Are currently in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States;
4. Have not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety;
5. Are not older than 30.

Only those individuals who can prove through verifiable documentation that they meet these criteria will be eligible for deferred action. Individuals will not be eligible if they are not currently in the United States and cannot prove that they have been physically present in the United States for a period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding today’s date. Deferred action requests are decided on a case-by-case basis. DHS cannot provide any assurance that all such requests will be granted. The use of prosecutorial discretion confers no substantive right, immigration status, or pathway to citizenship. Only the Congress, acting through its legislative authority, can confer these rights.