On February 13, 2012, two amicus briefs, one by IRLI and another by IRLI-affiliated outside attorney Kris Kobach, were filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the U.S. v. Arizona (SB 1070) litigation.  The combined briefs present nineteen essential legal points which explain how the three challenged provisions of SB1070 are in full harmony with the federal immigration laws enacted by Congress. The briefs also explain the provisions of the U.S. Constitution which delineate the complementary roles of Congress, the executive branch, and the states in the enforcement of American immigration and nationality law.

Federal district Judge Benson Legg of Baltimore has dismissed “with prejudice” the immigration-related unlawful arrest and profiling case brought in 2009 against Frederick County  Sheriff Charles Jenkins and two deputy sheriffs  by Roxanna Santos, an illegal alien represented by CASA de Maryland and Latino Justice/PRLDEF and assisted by several national corporate law firms.

The court order and memorandum issued on February 7, 2012 (download below) dismissed civil rights allegations for unlawful arrest, racial profiling based on Latina appearance, conspiracy to violate civil rights, and supervisory liability claims against the Sheriff, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Frederick County Commissioners.

 IRLI has sought leave to file an amicus brief (attached below) with the federal district court in Salt Lake City. The IRLI brief highlights a critical point of law that none of the Attorneys General in any of the states being sued by the Obama administration has yet addressed:  The claim by both DHS and the La Raza plaintiffs that agency “priorities” preempt state cooperative enforcement laws like HB 497.  IRLI investigated the source of this alleged “priority” power grab and has concluded that it is illegitimate, as it is almost entirely based on internal DHS memoranda, in particular the controversial “Morton memoranda” by current ICE Director John Morton.  

On September 28, US District Judge Sharon Blackburn issued Orders denying three requests by the Obama Administration, a coalition of illegal alien and cheap labor interests led by the ACLU and SPLC, and several bishops, to block implementation of the Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2011 ("HB 56.")  Click on the attachments below to read the Order and Memorandum Opinion for the three related cases, plus the IRLI amicus brief:

On Thursday, June 2, 2011, the Alabama Legislature passed what may be the most advanced omnibus state immigration enforcement legislation in U.S. history.  House Bill 56, the “Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act” of 2011, provides an important and innovative array of state level solutions to the problems created by uncontrolled and unlawful immigration in areas as diverse as employment, voting, education, contracts, and law enforcement.