Thread: Trespass prosecution of illegal immigrants ruled unconstitut

Trespass prosecution of illegal immigrants ruled unconstitutional, judge dismisses all charges
STAFF and WIRE REPORTS

JAFFREY â€â€

Sigh.

Another judge prys the floodgates open a little wider.

The NH House and Senate will be voting on separate bills this session allowing local law enforcement to uphold immigration laws. We lost the battle but will win the war.

It was almost a given that they would be let off, but local state reps. from the respective districts of Hudson and New Ipswich were inspired. The two guys (I forgot their names) have drawn up legislation allowing NH cops to enforce immigration law.

Live Free or Die!

I don't understand the allegation from the lawyers, when they said that the immigration laws could not be regulated by local law enforcement. The simple arrests should have been deemed as simply enforcing the law and not regulating it. The lawyers' claim had no leg to stand on. The judge has been told by the feds on how to handle immigrants rather than observing the laws. He has to go.

As for the intent of the law addressing tresspassing on private property, then if I lived in NH, I would post a "Keep out; private property" sign in my front yard. I can tell you from personal experience that in order for an arrest to take place under tresspassing, No Trespassing must be posted (FLA)

The real problem was that the lawyer representing the towns didn't present the case properly. She went in there and said words to the effect of "They should be charged with criminal trespassing because they were in the country illegally." Technically, that's correct. However, to win a case like this one where some ground will be broken you need to dig a little deeper.

I would have argued that it's ludicrous to assert that local cops can't enforce federal laws. If Ramirez had been found with large amounts of illegal drugs on him and crossed state lines from Mass. into New Ipswich to sell them, making it a federal crime, is Chief Garrett honestly expected to let him go because "the DEA can't take him right now"? Of course not, and he'd be putting the whole town in danger.

Illegal Immigration is breaking a federal law as well, and is just as dangerous and costly to a community as dealing drugs. The federal government doesn't know who this kid is! He could be a good person, but he could also be Mohammed Atta. I bet there was a TSA official in Boston that fateful day who thought the 9/11 hijackers looked like "good kids".

Therefore, charging him with a crime that forces him to stay put until the authorities can deport him is not just a good idea, it is necessary in this day and age. The government needs to know who is coming and going because we are at war.

Of course, they had some suck-ass ACLU attorney there and he cleaned the other lawyer's clock. But that's what I would have said. It would have put the ACLU guy in a pretty rough spot.

But like I said in another post, there are laws being drafted in the NH Legislature right now that WILL give the local cops authority to enforce federal law. If McCain/Kennedy or (snicker) Sheila Jackson-Lee's bills become reality that's long gone though.