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The Inherent Flaws In The Inherent Authority Position: Why Inviting Local Enforcement Of Immigration Laws Violates The Constitution, Immigr. & Nat'lity L. Rev., Huyen Pham
Huyen T. Pham
After 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that state and local authorities have "inherent authority" as sovereigns to enforce federal immigration laws. This announcement, a reversal from previous legal positions taken by DOJ, sent shockwaves through the immigrant and law enforcement communities. Previously, immigration law had been treated, both by law and in practice, as the exclusive province of the federal government.
This article considers the constitutional barriers to local enforcement. Although the fascinating interplay among immigration law, national security and anti-terrorism, and federalism has been highlighted in some of the debate up to now, the federalism-related issues go beyond …
When Immigration Borders Move, Huyen T. Pham
When Immigration Borders Move, Huyen T. Pham
Huyen T. Pham
With recent immigration enforcement efforts, we have created a completely new paradigm of moving borders: laws enacted at all levels of government that require proof of legal immigration status in order to obtain a driver’s license, a job, rental housing, government need-based assistance, and numerous other essential benefits. Unlike the fixed physical border, these laws require proof of immigration status at multiple, moving points in the country’s interior and are triggered through everyday transactions. A person who is unable to prove legal status is denied the restricted benefit; if a person is denied access to multiple essential benefits, then she …
When Immigration Borders Move, Huyen T. Pham
When Immigration Borders Move, Huyen T. Pham
Huyen T. Pham
With our recent immigration enforcement efforts, we have created a new paradigm of moving borders: laws enacted at all levels of government that require proof of legal immigration status in order to obtain essential benefits like a driver’s license, a job, and rental housing. Without proof of legal status, the applicant is denied an important benefit; after cumulative denials, the applicant can be effectively denied the ability to live in the United States. What are the implications of moving border laws? Now, more than ever, proof of legal immigration status has become centrally important, not just to gain admission at …
The Privatization Of Immigration Law Enforcement, Huyen T. Pham
The Privatization Of Immigration Law Enforcement, Huyen T. Pham
Huyen T. Pham
In the immigration policy debate, the question of who enforces our immigration laws can be as significant as what those policies are. And on that question, a significant and startling trend in immigration law has emerged: the shifting of enforcement responsibilities once held exclusively by government officers to private parties such as employers, landlords, and public carriers. These laws obligate private parties to ensure that they provide their goods and services only to those with legal immigration status; private parties who fail to do so face civil and criminal penalties. This article maps the expansion of private enforcement laws and …