Thread: Court ruling reaffirms immigration as federal domain

Court ruling reaffirms regulation of immigration as federal domain

A U.S. appeals court overturns a Pennsylvania city's law that punishes landlords for renting to illegal immigrants and employers for hiring them. But the matter of who rules on immigration is far from settled.

By David G. Savage, Tribune Washington Bureau
September 9, 2010|12:38 p.m.

WASHINGTON — A city may not punish employers who hire illegal immigrants or landlords who rent to them, a U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday, insisting that regulation of immigrants is "clearly within the exclusive domain of the federal government."

The decision strikes down an anti-immigrant ordinance adopted four years ago in Hazleton, Penn., that touched off a wave of similar measures in cities and states, including Arizona.

The ruling is the latest to send the message that Washington sets the rules on immigration, not states or localities.

"Deciding which aliens may live in the United States has always been the prerogative of the federal government," said Judge Theodore McKee of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. "If Hazleton can regulate as it has here, then so could every other state or locality."

But the ruling is not the final word on this issue.

In December, the Supreme Court will hear an Arizona case to decide whether a state may take away the business licenses of companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. This law, passed when Janet Napolitano was governor, was upheld by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on the grounds that states traditionally controlled the licensing of businesses.

Bu the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Obama administration have urged the high court to strike down that licensing law because they say it is, in fact, an immigration law.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 7857.story

The Honorable Theodore A. McKee

Judge Theodore A. McKee was born June 5, 1947, in a rural community near Rochester, New York. His mother, Etta V. Payne, was a school worker and his father, Clarence V. McKee, worked as a waiter on the New York Central Railroad. Judge McKee attended State University of New York at Cortland, where he was active in student government and played football, graduating in 1969.

Prior toattending law school, Judge McKee served as the Director of Minority Recruitment and Admissions for the State University of New York at Binghamton. In 1972, Judge McKee entered Syracuse University College of Law. He graduated in 1975 magna cum laude and was awarded several academic honors including Order of the Coif.

After two years at the law firm of Wolf, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen in Philadelphia, Judge McKee served as an Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy Solicitor to the Law Department of the City of Philadelphia, and General Counsel to the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Judge McKee’s work included prosecuting cases of public corruption, investigating police brutality and assisting in the prosecution of Philadelphia homicide detectives charged with civil rights violations. Judge McKee served as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania for more than a decade, and he chaired the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission for four of those years.

In 1994, President Clinton appointed Judge McKee to the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

His deep commitment to social justice continues to find expression in his judicial and public interest work. He serves as an Advisor to the American Law Institute project to rewrite the Articles of the Model Penal Code that address sentencing.

He also serves on the board of directors of several non profit organizations, including Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University, and City Year Greater Philadelphia. Judge McKee has also served on the boards of the Crime Prevention Association (“Caring People Allianceâ€

The ruling is the latest to send the message that Washington sets the rules on immigration, not states or localities.

Secession then!

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