Public Square
'Illegal Alien' the preferred phrase for Supreme Court Justices in US v Arizona oral argument
The May 26 oral arguments for the Arizona SB 1070 case before the U.S. Supreme Court were notable for the use of the correct immigration law terminology for aliens unlawfully present in the United States.
Justice Alito and Roberts both used the term "illegal alien" once. Justice Sotomayor used the same "illegal alien" term eight times in questioning Solicitor General Verrilli. Justice Scalia used the term "illegal immigrant" once.
IRLI Defends City of Fremont in Eighth Circuit Oral Argument
On December 13, 2012, attorneys Kris Kobach and Garrett Roe attended oral arguments in the cases of Martinez v. City of Fremont and Keller v. City of Fremont before a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Kris Kobach argued for the City of Fremont.
Representing the landlord and tenant plaintiffs were attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Also arguing against the City was an attorney for the United States Department of Justice.
IRLI Hazleton brief: US Supreme Court ruling in AZ v US supports local enforcement ordinances
On July 23, 2012 IRLI filed an important legal brief, ordered by the Third Circuit, explaining how the recent Arizona v. United States (SB 1070 decision) impacts the legal arguments in Lozano v. City of Hazleton, the landmark lawsuit challenging local immigration enforcement ordinances. On appeal by IRLI, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011 vacated a lower ruling against the Pennsylvania city of Hazleton, shortly after its first ruling upholding Arizona’s immigration enforcement laws, in Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting. Access the IRLI letter brief below.
IRLI Defends City of Fremont Ordinances in Eighth Circuit
IRLI attorneys Kris Kobach and Garrett Roe have filed an important legal brief in the ongoing legal defense of the employer licensing and anti-harboring ordinances, enacted by a Fremont, Nebraska citizen initiative in June, 2010. The consolidated cases are Martinez v. City of Fremont and Keller v. City of Fremont. The City's 125 page brief, dated July 10, 2012, can be downloaded below.