ACLU Sues to Stop South Carolina's New Immigration Law

Thursday, October 13, 2011, 3:54 PM EST

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday, charging that South Carolina's new immigration law is unconstitutional. The law requires law enforcement to check the immigration status of all people that they detain, including those that are stopped for traffic violations. The law is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2012. The ACLU and its allies are hoping to get a federal injunction to prevent it from taking effect.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson stood behind the law, saying, "We have a strong opinion this law is constitutional and we’re prepared to defend it to the U.S. Supreme Court if we have to.”

“Individuals perceived as ‘foreign’ by state or local law enforcement agents will be in constant jeopardy of harassment and unlawfully prolonged detention and arrest,” the lawsuit states. The suit also states that immigration is the federal government's responsibility, and

that the 4th Amendment (which prohibits unlawful searches and seizures) is violated by the status-checks.

Victoria Middleton, executive director of the South Carolina American Civil Liberties Union, said, “It would put at risk the people who have a right to be here but can’t produce documents that would pass muster in this state."

Several other states have passed immigration legislation, and lawsuits have earned mixed results - with several notable victories for state initiatives. Analysts predict the Supreme Court will eventually have to weigh in.

Read more at: http://www.thestate.com/2011/10/12/2007090/federal-lawsuit-filed-against.html

Comment

I'd like to ask Ms. Middleton just what kind of documents people would have to produce while pulled over by the side of the road? Birth certificates? Who walks around with their birth certificate in their wallet? She's being ridiculous. A valid driver's licence will suffice. And what if the person in question doesn't have a licence? Well, he shouldn't be driving without one. NO EXCEPTIONS! No licence, no driving. Need to drive to work? You should have thought of that before you did whatever you did to lose your licence.

Without proper proof of citizenship, you could find yourself detained until your identity can be verified, but they're not going to just shove you on a south bound bus and forget about you.

Middleton is implying that American citizens without proof of citizenship could find themselves deported like Cheech Marin in "Born In East LA." She, like the rest of the ACLU are full of donkey doo.

You know, the U.S. doesn't just deport people without being certain of their country of origin - even Mestizos. Just because you're a foreign Latino doesn't mean you're Mexican. ICE doesn't dump Mestizos from Central and South America on Mexico.

If you're an illegal and you get picked up and refuse to tell ICE your country of origin, they can detain you until you tell them, or until they can discover that for themselves. They don't just ship all Latinos to Mexico.

The best way to deal with illegal immigrants is to ship them home immediately when they are picked up. Secondly, we have to remove all the things that lure them here such as jobs, social programs, free hospitals, and free education. Then, we must bring our troops home and use them to secure our borders. As far as I'm concerned, that's all a no-brainer.

I say to the illegals, "Sorry amigos, the gravy train has left."

Dan 88!