U.S. Sovereignty
Legal Update from IRLI (Immigration Reform Law Institute):
The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), FAIR's legal arm, has been hard at work on two big immigration cases that could have a real impact on how immigration laws and statutes are applied at the local level in the coming years.
City of Fremont v Kotas
In City of Fremont v Kotas, IRLI is representing the citizens of Fremont, Nebraska, who were successful in petitioning for a local immigration enforcement ordinance (based on a model drafted by IRLI in other localities) for a city initiative, but which the Fremont City Council refused to place on the ballot. The local court ruled in favor of the citizens. On Jan. 7, 2010 IRLI Senior Counsel Kris Kobach, assisted by IRLI staff attorney Garrett Roe, represented the citizens before the Nebraska Supreme Court. A favorable decision will force the City Council to hold the special election, after which IRLI will continue to defend enforcement of the ordinance against a possible hostile challenge.
Cota v. Jenkins
In Cota v. Jenkins, an illegal alien represented by CASA de Maryland and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) has sued the Frederick County MD Sheriff for unlawful detention and related civil rights claims after she attempted to evade Sheriffs' deputies patrolling an industrial area. The deputies had observed her sitting near a gutter and asked her about her presence at the industrial area. The woman, when followed, allegedly claimed she had no ID, but then produced a consular ID card. The deputies, conducting a routine computer search of her documents, discovered that the woman was on a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) wanted list, and detained her for transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). IRLI has been asked to participate by the Sheriff as co-counsel, to utilize its specialized expertise in assisting the defense of the deputies' engagement in local cooperative enforcement activities.
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IRLI is the only public interest law firm in the United States devoted exclusively to protecting the rights and interests of United States citizens in immigration-related matters....continue to IRLI.
