Database doesn't say who's illegally in country
By ANABELLE GARAY Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press
Nov. 6, 2008, 5:30PM

DALLAS — A federal database system the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch wants to use in its plan to keep out illegal immigrants is not capable of providing information about who's in the country illegally, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services official said in court documents.

The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program does not show whether a person is deportable, SAVE program chief John Roessler said in a deposition for the legal fight over whether Farmers Branch can check the immigration status of renters. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the deposition taken last month in Washington, D.C.

Asked if the system would respond with the words "lawfully present" when asked about a non-U.S. citizen, Roessler replied, "It does not answer lawful presence or not."

Opponents of the Farmers Branch ordinances say the deposition bolsters their contention that Farmers Branch's plan is unworkable.

"Farmers Branch is the only jurisdiction in the country trying to twist the federal SAVE system to deny housing. The city will never be accepted to use the SAVE system because its ordinance is based on unconstitutional and impossibly vague terms. We fully expect this ordinance to suffer the same fate as the previous ordinance and be struck down on constitutional grounds," said Nina Perales, southwest regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Attorney Kris Kobach, who represents Farmers Branch, said the deposition favors Farmers Branch's intentions because it shows SAVE can confirm a non-citizen's immigration classification, or status.

"The deposition fully supports what Farmers Branch is doing," he said. "The SAVE system was designed to give concrete answers."

As part of their immigration-related ordinance, Farmers Branch officials wanted to use the SAVE program administered by USCIS to check the immigration status of thousands of renters. The ordinance requires prospective tenants of houses or apartments to get rental licenses and calls for the city building inspector to verify with the federal government whether those who are not U.S. citizens have a "legal presence." Anyone deemed an illegal immigrant would have their rental license revoked, banning them from leasing in the city.

Attorneys for Farmers Branch contended the ordinance would pass constitutional muster because the federal government, and not the city or landlord, would make immigration determinations.

SAVE can verify people's current immigration status, for example, by saying if the person is a legal permanent resident or employment authorized. But it cannot confirm whether a person is living illegally in the U.S., Roessler said.

The SAVE program does not determine whether the person qualifies for the entitlement they are applying for. That responsibility still falls on the agency administering the particular benefit or license, according to USCIS.

"The building block for the scheme here was that the federal government would answer the question. But the SAVE program doesn't answer a question as to whether an individual is lawfully in the U.S.," said attorney Bill Brewer, who is handling several lawsuits opposing Farmers Branch's ordinance.

SAVE is typically used by government agencies to look up whether the immigration classification a person has allows them to receive federally funded benefits, such as Medicaid, Medicare and Assistance for Needy Families. Currently, 32 states also are signed up to use the system to determine whether a person can be issued a driver's license. It was designed to make that determination since by law, many people who live legally in the U.S. cannot receive certain entitlements.

Agencies who use SAVE typically have a list saying whether the applicant's immigration category allows them to qualify for a benefit or license.

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