Archive for August, 2010
Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Dallas-based immigration attorney Stewart Rabinowitz offers informed commentary about Congressional Report.
The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is charged with preventing the entry of terrorists, securing the borders, and carrying out immigration enforcement functions. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a component of DHS, has primary responsibility for securing the borders of the United States, preventing terrorists and their weapons from entering the United States, and enforcing hundreds of U.S. trade and immigration laws. Within CBP, the U.S. Border Patrol’s mission is to detect and prevent the illegal entry of aliens across the nearly 7,000 miles of Mexican and Canadian international borders and 2,000 miles of coastal borders surrounding Florida and Puerto Rico.
In 2006, in response to requests for support enforcing federal immigration laws from the governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, President George W. Bush announced the deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard troops along the southern border to support the Border Patrol.
“What Bush did was unprecedented only in respect to the large potential number of National Guard troops to be used explicitly for that purpose, but it was certainly an escalation of the status quo,” explained Dallas-based immigration attorney Stewart Rabinowitz, “Bush also received a lot of political pressure from Conservatives to take such action.”
During 2006-2008, more than 30,000 individuals participated in the mission “Operation Jump Start.”
“There’s considerable debate about what the mission actually jump started,” Rabinowitz said.
The report concluded that illegal drug activities and crime continue. The day after the murder of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz on March 27, 2010, the Border Patrol seized 290 pounds of marijuana near his ranch. “That incident was also one of several catalysts in helping to bring about Arizona’s controversial and now somewhat embattled immigration law, Senate Bill 1070,” Rabinowitz concluded, “Of course it more directly brought about an increased military presence, especially along Arizona’s border with Mexico.”
The primary restriction on military participation in civilian law enforcement activities is the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA). The PCA prohibits the use of the Army and Air Force to execute the domestic laws of the United States except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress.
To learn more about Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C., call 1.972.233.6200 or visit http://www.rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
Tags: Dallas immigration, Dallas Immigration attorney, Dallas Immigration lawyer
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Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Dallas-based immigration lawyer Stewart Rabinowitz provides timely insights about the controversial suit.
Citing conflict with Federal Law, the Department of Justice has challenged Arizona immigration law Senate Bill 1070. In a brief filed in the District of Arizona, the Department said S.B. 1070 unconstitutionally interferes with the federal government’s authority to set and enforce immigration policy, explaining that “The Constitution and federal law do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country.”
“Having contradictory state and local policies would disrupt federal immigration enforcement, which isn’t necessarily a good idea,” asserts Dallas-based immigration lawyer Stewart Rabinowitz, “It can be argued that the state of Arizona has crossed a constitutional line.”
The Department’s brief said that S.B. 1070 will place significant burdens on federal agencies, diverting their resources away from high-priority targets, such as aliens implicated in terrorism, drug smuggling, gang activity, and those with criminal records. The law’s mandates on Arizona law enforcement will also result in the harassment and detention of foreign visitors and legal immigrants, as well as U.S. citizens, who cannot readily prove their lawful status.
Rabinowitz amplifies the latter point. “Although the Arizona proponents of S.B. 1070 always insist that racial profiling is expressly prohibited in the language of the bill, in practice, just the opposite effect is likely to occur – considering the socio-political milieu which exists in Arizona,” he said.
In declarations filed with the brief, Arizona law enforcement officials, including the Chiefs of Police of Phoenix and Tucson, said that S.B. 1070 will hamper their ability to effectively police their communities. The chiefs said that victims of or witnesses to crimes would be less likely to contact or cooperate with law enforcement officials and that implementation of the law would require them to reassign officers from critical areas such as violent crimes, property crimes, and home invasions.
“It’s likely that enforcement of S.B. 1070 would lead to near-zero enforcement in many areas – creating a kind of chaos,” Rabinowitz concludes.
The Department filed the suit after extensive consultation with Arizona officials, law enforcement officers and groups, and civil rights advocates. The suit was filed on behalf of the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of State, which share responsibilities in administering federal immigration law.
To learn more about Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C., call 1.972.233.6200 or visit http://www.rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
Tags: Dallas immigration, Dallas Immigration attorney, Dallas Immigration lawyer
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