Washington Post: The Obama administration’s legal campaign against restrictive state immigration laws has led to a bitter standoff in Alabama, where Justice Department attorneys are investigating possible civil rights violations.
The federal government already has sued Alabama over its new law, one of three such lawsuits against states that have cracked down on illegal immigration. Now, the Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation to monitor potential discrimination as parts of the Alabama law take effect.
The standoff is over Justice’s request for detailed enrollment data from Alabama schools, part of the probe into complaints that the law has prompted Hispanic families to pull their children from school. But Alabama’s attorney general has balked and, in a series of blunt replies, questioned the federal government’s authority to demand the information. The state education department has advised school districts not to comply.
The deadlock, which shows no sign of ending and could lead to a second Justice Department lawsuit, comes after the administration last year sued Arizona and, two weeks ago, filed suit against South Carolina. Government lawyers are also considering challenges to laws in Utah, Georgia and Indiana.
The lawsuits have emerged as a key part of the administration’s efforts on immigration and could serve as a counterpoint to growing criticism in the Hispanic activist community over President Obama’s stepped-up deportation program.
The Alabama law is considered the toughest of six new state immigration statutes, which include provisions giving police new authority to question legal status, among other things. At least 17 other states have considered such measures this year.
The dispute has stirred painful memories of Alabama’s segregationist past, with accusations that the law targets Hispanics. A civil rights group compared Alabama attorney general Luther Strange to then-Gov. George C. Wallace (D) standing in front of a schoolhouse in 1963 as he resisted federal efforts to enroll black students at the University of Alabama.
“The intemperate language of [Strange’s] letter does remind us of George Wallace in the schoolhouse door,’’ said Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which set up a hotline to monitor discrimination complaints over the immigration law. He said the hotline has received nearly 4,000 calls.
Strange, a Republican elected last year, vehemently rejected the Wallace comparison and said he would not tolerate discrimination. Supporters of the law defended the attorney general and said concerns about racial profiling of Hispanics are overstated.
“That’s a poisonous thing to say,” said Strange, who defeated Wallace’s son, George Wallace Jr., in a 2006 primary for lieutenant governor. “I recognize that there is a closet of skeletons that comes along with the job if you’re elected to office in Alabama, and someone can always pull out one of those 50-year-old skeletons and beat you over the head with it.”
Legal experts say the level of federal intervention over the immigration laws is extraordinary, particularly since the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have obtained rulings temporarily blocking all or key parts of the Utah, Georgia and Indiana measures. Federal courts also have blocked the most contested provisions of Arizona’s law, and the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether to take the case.
Immigration has emerged as a key issue in the presidential campaign, and some Democrats think the Justice Department’s actions could help soothe Hispanic voters Obama will need to win reelection. Justice officials have denied any political motives and said they are proceeding based on the facts and the law.
The Alabama law passed in June after last year’s Republican sweep of the legislature. A federal appeals court last month temporarily blocked the most contested provision, which requires public schools to determine citizenship by seeking children’s birth certificates.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit allowed other parts to take effect, pending a more detailed review of the Justice Department’s appeal. Those include provisions requiring police to check immigration status if they stop someone while enforcing other laws, and barring undocumented immigrants from entering into business transactions with the state or being party to a contract.
Civil rights groups say this has led to illegal immigrants being evicted from their homes, not getting paid for work and being unable to purchase some utilities. One victim of domestic violence complained that she wasn’t allowed to seek a protective order from a judge, who threatened to turn her in to authorities, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“The law has had a chilling effect,” said Isabel Rubio, executive director of the Hispanic Interest coalition of Alabama, who said some Hispanic families have left the state and others are signing custody of their children over to neighbors in case they are deported.
Thomas E. Perez, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said federal lawyers are investigating similar complaints, along with reports of racial profiling during traffic stops, Hispanic children being withdrawn from school and bullying of children who show up.
“There’s a real fear in these households,” he said in an interview. “People are afraid to drive, afraid to leave their homes.”
Strange said his office had not heard of such complaints. And Kris Kobach, a senior Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration who helped draft the Alabama law and is helping coordinate the state’s legal strategy, said the law prohibits consideration of race.
The federal government already has sued Alabama over its new law, one of three such lawsuits against states that have cracked down on illegal immigration. Now, the Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation to monitor potential discrimination as parts of the Alabama law take effect.
The standoff is over Justice’s request for detailed enrollment data from Alabama schools, part of the probe into complaints that the law has prompted Hispanic families to pull their children from school. But Alabama’s attorney general has balked and, in a series of blunt replies, questioned the federal government’s authority to demand the information. The state education department has advised school districts not to comply.
The deadlock, which shows no sign of ending and could lead to a second Justice Department lawsuit, comes after the administration last year sued Arizona and, two weeks ago, filed suit against South Carolina. Government lawyers are also considering challenges to laws in Utah, Georgia and Indiana.
The lawsuits have emerged as a key part of the administration’s efforts on immigration and could serve as a counterpoint to growing criticism in the Hispanic activist community over President Obama’s stepped-up deportation program.
The Alabama law is considered the toughest of six new state immigration statutes, which include provisions giving police new authority to question legal status, among other things. At least 17 other states have considered such measures this year.
The dispute has stirred painful memories of Alabama’s segregationist past, with accusations that the law targets Hispanics. A civil rights group compared Alabama attorney general Luther Strange to then-Gov. George C. Wallace (D) standing in front of a schoolhouse in 1963 as he resisted federal efforts to enroll black students at the University of Alabama.
“The intemperate language of [Strange’s] letter does remind us of George Wallace in the schoolhouse door,’’ said Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which set up a hotline to monitor discrimination complaints over the immigration law. He said the hotline has received nearly 4,000 calls.
Strange, a Republican elected last year, vehemently rejected the Wallace comparison and said he would not tolerate discrimination. Supporters of the law defended the attorney general and said concerns about racial profiling of Hispanics are overstated.
“That’s a poisonous thing to say,” said Strange, who defeated Wallace’s son, George Wallace Jr., in a 2006 primary for lieutenant governor. “I recognize that there is a closet of skeletons that comes along with the job if you’re elected to office in Alabama, and someone can always pull out one of those 50-year-old skeletons and beat you over the head with it.”
Legal experts say the level of federal intervention over the immigration laws is extraordinary, particularly since the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have obtained rulings temporarily blocking all or key parts of the Utah, Georgia and Indiana measures. Federal courts also have blocked the most contested provisions of Arizona’s law, and the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether to take the case.
Immigration has emerged as a key issue in the presidential campaign, and some Democrats think the Justice Department’s actions could help soothe Hispanic voters Obama will need to win reelection. Justice officials have denied any political motives and said they are proceeding based on the facts and the law.
The Alabama law passed in June after last year’s Republican sweep of the legislature. A federal appeals court last month temporarily blocked the most contested provision, which requires public schools to determine citizenship by seeking children’s birth certificates.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit allowed other parts to take effect, pending a more detailed review of the Justice Department’s appeal. Those include provisions requiring police to check immigration status if they stop someone while enforcing other laws, and barring undocumented immigrants from entering into business transactions with the state or being party to a contract.
Civil rights groups say this has led to illegal immigrants being evicted from their homes, not getting paid for work and being unable to purchase some utilities. One victim of domestic violence complained that she wasn’t allowed to seek a protective order from a judge, who threatened to turn her in to authorities, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“The law has had a chilling effect,” said Isabel Rubio, executive director of the Hispanic Interest coalition of Alabama, who said some Hispanic families have left the state and others are signing custody of their children over to neighbors in case they are deported.
Thomas E. Perez, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said federal lawyers are investigating similar complaints, along with reports of racial profiling during traffic stops, Hispanic children being withdrawn from school and bullying of children who show up.
“There’s a real fear in these households,” he said in an interview. “People are afraid to drive, afraid to leave their homes.”
Strange said his office had not heard of such complaints. And Kris Kobach, a senior Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration who helped draft the Alabama law and is helping coordinate the state’s legal strategy, said the law prohibits consideration of race.
He dismissed reports of discrimination in Alabama as “ridiculous.”
On Nov. 1, Perez wrote to 39 Alabama school districts with significant Hispanic populations, seeking detailed data on student enrollment and absences. But Strange replied that Perez had not stated his legal authority to demand the information. “If you have such legal authority, please provide it to me by noon” that Friday, Strange wrote.
Perez cited a raft of civil rights and other federal laws; Strange replied that Justice had still asserted “no legal authority’” to obtain the data.
In an interview, Strange called on the Justice Department to hand any complaints over to the state so officials could take action, which he said is required under federal law. “We should be on the same team,’’ he said.
Justice officials said they would do no such thing, and Perez said the department will take “appropriate action” if it finds violations of civil rights laws.
Kobach said Justice has “no authority to compel this information,” and is “overplaying its hand.”
Several Alabama school districts, citing the state education department’s recommendation, said they would not comply with Perez’s request.
“Why should we do it if we’ve been told not to?” said Nancy Pierce, spokeswoman for Mobile County schools, who said pulling the data would be “extremely labor-intensive.”
In the Shelby County schools near Birmingham, nearly 170 Hispanic children were withdrawn through Oct. 25, out of about 2,250 districtwide, according to spokeswoman Cindy Warner, who said that is similar to previous years.
John Wright, the district’s deputy superintendent, said officials are awaiting further instructions from the state before sending data to the Justice Department. “We’re in a holding pattern,” he said.
Perez cited a raft of civil rights and other federal laws; Strange replied that Justice had still asserted “no legal authority’” to obtain the data.
In an interview, Strange called on the Justice Department to hand any complaints over to the state so officials could take action, which he said is required under federal law. “We should be on the same team,’’ he said.
Justice officials said they would do no such thing, and Perez said the department will take “appropriate action” if it finds violations of civil rights laws.
Kobach said Justice has “no authority to compel this information,” and is “overplaying its hand.”
Several Alabama school districts, citing the state education department’s recommendation, said they would not comply with Perez’s request.
“Why should we do it if we’ve been told not to?” said Nancy Pierce, spokeswoman for Mobile County schools, who said pulling the data would be “extremely labor-intensive.”
In the Shelby County schools near Birmingham, nearly 170 Hispanic children were withdrawn through Oct. 25, out of about 2,250 districtwide, according to spokeswoman Cindy Warner, who said that is similar to previous years.
John Wright, the district’s deputy superintendent, said officials are awaiting further instructions from the state before sending data to the Justice Department. “We’re in a holding pattern,” he said.
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