Tea Flash: Department of Justice Sues Alabama

FOR THE WEEK OF August 8, 2011

Department of Justice Sues Alabama
DHS Tells Governors it Doesn't Need Their Permission for Secure Communities
House Passes Two Immigration Bills before Recess

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Department of Justice Sues Alabama

email image In a complaint filed early last week, the U.S. government filed suit against the State of Alabama to prevent the state's recently-passed immigration law from taking effect in September. In the filings, the U.S. argued for H.B. 56 to be preliminarily and permanently enjoined from enforcement. The federal government asserts that numerous provisions of Alabama's law are preempted by federal laws and therefore violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.

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DHS Tells Governors it Doesn't Need Their Permission for Secure Communities

email image On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent letters to governors of the 39 states participating in Secure Communities, informing them that it was rescinding their memorandums of agreement to participate in the fingerprint-sharing program. (LA Times, Aug. 6, 2011) The rescissions, however, do not signal an end to the program, but rather an acknowledgement by the government that Secure Communities is a mandatory program that does not require an agreement with the state.

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House Passes Two Immigration Bills before Recess

email image Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two immigration bills: H.R. 398 and H.R. 1933. The first bill, H.R. 398, is sponsored by Immigration Subcommittee ranking chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to toll (stop from running) the 90-day period in which an alien and petitioning spouse must file a petition and complete an interview to remove the alien's conditional legal permanent resident status while either the alien or petitioning spouse is a member of the U.S. military serving abroad.