Thread: Read & Laugh: ACLU Release Whines that MO law upheld

Civil Rights Coalition Condemns Court Decision Upholding Missouri Employer Sanctions Law (1/31/200

Discriminatory Act Illegally Punishes Businesses and Employees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

VALLEY PARK, MO – [color=red][b]Today a Missouri federal court upheld the City of Valley Park’s so-called “Illegal Immigration Relief Actâ€

Way to go Valley Park, MO. I knew you were fighters. Give your city attorney a big hug for me.

Of that list at the bottom they are bragging about, many are still tied up in court and punching through ordinances.

The ACLU is nothing but a speedbump, when it comes to cities passing immigration enforcement laws.

Dixie

Can't win 'em all ACLU

[quote]“Valley Park wisely abandoned its earlier attempt to deny housing based on suspected immigration status and should do the same with this discriminatory employment law. As Escondido, California and other cities that have rejected or repealed similar ordinances know, punishing immigrants is not only illegal but unwise. The real solution to the misguided concerns that lead localities to enact these ordinances is for Congress to fix the broken immigration system and adopt comprehensive immigration reform.â€

BRAVO! Miguelina! I am with you.

Let me know if this is a dup.


Federal Judge Rules That Local Governments Can Suspend Business Licenses for Hiring Illegal Aliens

Decision in Valley Park, Missouri, Case will have Far-Reaching
Consequences Predicts the Immigration Reform Law Institute



WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an unambiguous 57-page
decision handed down on January 31, U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber
ruled that local governments have a right to take action against illegal
immigration by suspending or denying business licenses to employers who
knowingly hire illegal aliens. Judge Webber granted the City of Valley
Park, Missouri's, request for summary judgment in dismissing a case seeking
to prevent the city from implementing local ordinances meant to crack down
on businesses that employ illegal aliens. His ruling rejected every one of
the arguments made by the plaintiffs in this suit.



The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), a Washington, D.C.-based
public interest law firm representing citizens in immigration-related
matters, worked closely with the City of Valley Park in drafting ordinances
that were approved in February 2007, and provided legal representation to
the city in defending the ordinances against the suit brought by the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) on behalf of a few business owners
and anonymous illegal immigrants.



"Judge Webber's ruling represents an across-the-board victory for the
people of Valley Park, and for the principle that local communities have a
legal right to discourage illegal immigration by denying business licenses
to companies that employ illegal workers," stated Prof. Kris Kobach, lead
counsel for Valley Park and of counsel with IRLI.



In his precedent setting decision, Judge Webber ruled that carefully
crafted ordinances, such as the one enacted in Valley Park, a St. Louis
suburb, are not preempted by the federal government's exclusive right to
regulate immigration. Rather such ordinances constitute the normal function
of local governments to regulate the terms under which business may be
conducted in their jurisdiction, and that federal laws prohibiting the
employment of illegal aliens encourage local governments to act in this
manner.



"The Valley Park decision is a clear green light for other cities and
states to enact similar laws," declared Michael Hethmon, general counsel
for IRLI. "Point by point, Judge Webber's decision deconstructs and
dismisses each of the arguments that opponents of immigration enforcement
have made in this and other cases around the country. As a result of this
decision we expect to see many more communities enact common sense
ordinances, confident that the law is on their side."


http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stori ... 920&EDATE=


SOURCE Immigration Reform Law Institute

Originally Posted by miguelina

No dear, that's called enforcing the federal LAW. Being an illegal alien in this country is ILLEGAL, but it's ok to ignore that? I don't think so!

Suppose I "borrowed" this ACLU lawyer's car for say, 5 years, and drove it to California. Would it be illegal for the police in CA to arrest me? That is basically what she is saying!!

Judge: Mo. town's immigration law OK

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provid ... id=8132300

February 1, 2008 9:15 PM ET advertisement

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A federal judge has upheld an ordinance in a suburban St. Louis town that penalizes businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber ruled late Thursday that the city of Valley Park, Mo.'s ordinance is not pre-empted by federal law, does not discriminate against Hispanics and does not violate due-process rights or Missouri law.

The ordinance "is not preempted by federal law, to the contrary, federal law specifically permits such licensing laws as the one at issue," Webber wrote.

Valley Park is one of several cities around the country that have attempted to clamp down on illegal immigration, citing a lack of federal action.

Kris Kobach, a University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor who handled the case for Valley Park, said the ruling "gives a green light to other communities" looking to adopt similar legislation.

City officials in Valley Park have been embroiled in court battles since passing the town's first immigration law in 2006. That original law, since rescinded, fined landlords if they were found to rent to illegal immigrants. Valley Park subsequently passed a law going after businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

The American Civil Liberties Union challenged both laws, and a St. Louis County judge agreed that both violated state law. Webber, in his 57-page ruling, disagreed.

In a statement, the ACLU said the law was aimed at driving immigrants out of the small working class St. Louis County town of about 6,500.

"If every city and town across the country were allowed to enact its own immigration laws, we would end up with chaos and confusion causing discrimination and profiling against individuals based on their appearance, accent and ethnicity," said Lucas Guttentag, the ACLU's immigrants rights project director.

Calls to the ACLU office in St. Louis were not returned, and it wasn't clear if an appeal was planned.

Kobach said Valley Park has no intention of running out legal immigrants, and the ruling confirmed that.

"It's vindication for this small city," Kobach said. "The city stood firm and didn't back down."

A law punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants took effect in Arizona on Jan. 1, and an Oklahoma law with similar provisions takes effect for private employers in July.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued over the constitutionality of Oklahoma's law on Friday, saying it interferes with federal immigration law and creates a patchwork of uncoordinated state immigration procedures.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.