California has an immigration law too

May 29, 2010

California has an immigration law too

Michael Harlin
16 Comments

The media, local California governments and liberal groups are absolutely a hoot. Their ignorance is breath taking.

Arizona's new immigration law is said to be racist according to reports in the media from a variety of liberal groups; it's not if you actually read it. Local California cities want to boycott Arizona which is questionable under the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution, but it is also incredible hypocrisy.

For my non-lawyer friends, you probably didn't know that California also has a law pertaining to illegal aliens. Yep. It's been on the books since 1994! Good ole Prop 187. The law provides that law enforcement shall [note -- not "may"] cooperate with US Immigration and Naturalization Service, [now known as ICE], regarding any person suspected of being in the US illegally to include verifying that person's status, advise the person that they must seek legal status to reside in the US, notify the federal government of that person's illegal status and prohibits local governments from not enforcing this law. Most notable is the absence of any reference in the statute to the ability of law enforcement to use race as a basis for inquiry of the person's status! Only an arrest is required to trigger the inquiry into that person's status.

In otherwords, California's law is racist while Arizona's is not, to use liberal logic, because race may not be used to trigger the inquiry into status in Arizona after an arrest. In California, no problem! Racial profile all you want!

But it gets better!

The Democratic party controlled Assembly and Senate in California could amend this statute to prohibit the use of race as a basis to determine immigration status of the arrestee by law enforcement in California. They haven't in 16 years! And eventhough they have the votes to over-ride a govenor's veto! [Not that Arnold would veto it you understand].

So the question is my friends, who is the pot and who is the kettle? I simply love this stuff!

"Show me your papers!!!"

Most Of California's Prop. 187 Ruled Unconstitutional

LOS ANGELES (AllPolitics, March 19) -- A U.S. District Court judge has declared most of California's Proposition 187 unconstitutional.

Approved by voters in 1994, the proposition would have denied health care, education and welfare benefits to illegal immigrants. Almost immediately, Judge Mariana Pfaelzer granted its opponents' request for a restraining order, which prevented it from taking effect.

In her final ruling, Pfaelzer rejected California's attempt to regulate immigration, which she said is the federal government's responsibility.

Judge Pfaelzer's ruling strikes down portions of the initiative that would have required law enforcement, teachers, social service and health care workers to verify a person's immigration status. Under Proposition 187, they would have had to report illegals to authorities and to deny them social service, health care and education benefits.

The American Civil Liberties Union's Southern California chapter was one of the five groups which sued to stop Proposition 187. In a statement, ACLU spokesman Mark Rosenbaum said Pfaelzer correctly denied California's attempt to regulate immigration.

"[It is] not a matter for individual states to attempt to formulate their own rules and procedures," Rosenbaum said. "School teachers and doctors are not substitutes for INS agents."

But California Gov. Pete Wilson, who supports Proposition 187, vowed to appeal, "so that the will of the people can be upheld."

California Penal Code 834b

California Penal Code 834B

(a) Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully
cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization
Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is
suspected of being present in the United States in violation of
federal immigration laws.
(b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and suspected
of being present in the United States in violation of federal
immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall do the
following:
(1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen
of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent
resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time
or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of
immigration laws. The verification process may include, but shall not
be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or her date and
place of birth, and entry into the United States, and demanding
documentation to indicate his or her legal status.
(2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an alien
who is present in the United States in violation of federal
immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any criminal
justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal status or
leave the United States.
(3) Notify the Attorney General of California and the United
States Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent illegal
status and provide any additional information that may be requested
by any other public entity.
(c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city,
county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with
jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency, to prevent
or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is expressly
prohibited.

http://law.onecle.com/california/penal/834b.html

Regarding California Immigration Law Prop 187, your friend is partly right. California voters have passed a whole slew of anit illegal alien laws. As far back as I can remember Californians have been in an uproar about illegal aliens. We are a HUGE state with very entrenched and RICH special interests who LOVE illegal aliens here. So years of big government in California has made the state top heavy with corruption and powerful lobbies. Over and over again the People of California vote to end illegal immigration in our state, but what the people amend to our California Constitution is routinely quashed and not enforced by these powerful interests. For instance California's HUGE agri-business monopolies rely on dirt cheap illegal alien wage-slaves and they INSIST in having illegal aliens -- so does our chamber of commerce.

California courts ruled Section 834b of Proposition 187 illegal, Section 834b was placed there by Proposition 187. Like most of the measure, it was invalidated when Democrat Gray Davis refused to pursue an appeal in federal court..Gray Davis was then recalled by the voters who elected Arnie da Gubenator who quickly ignored campaign promises--sound familiar? In fact, Democratic attorney general Bill Lockyer issued a 2001 opinion that 187s provisions "have been declared pre-empted by federal law and their enforcement has been permanently enjoined by a federal court." Lockyer also declared that it would be illegal for a California cop to question the immigration status of anyone just for speaking Spanish.