The Law Office of Jonathan Bachison

I like the direction that this document is trying to take the discussion about immigration. The hardest aspect of practicing immigration law is seeing familes split apart. Every client that I meet says that they are here trying to make a better life for themself and their family. Is there anything more American than that? Here is a link to read the compact for yourself. http://utahcompact.com/read-the-utah-compact

Recent data indicates that eight percent of babies born in the United States in 2008 have parents without legal status. Further, about 1 out of every 4 children has an immigrant parent. Further, the majority of Americans have a direct immigrant decendant within a few generations. These statistics are amazing in that they show that America is still a nation of immigrants and most likely will continue to be in the future. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/11/hispanic.study/?hpt=T2

I cannot say that I am that surprised by this result. See article for more details.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/7128638.html

http://www.damego.com/a-preview-of-both-legal-positions-on-the-arizona-immigration-law

This article sums it up. The idea for the Federal Gov”t is that immigration is an area of law preempted by Congress. Arizona is claiming that its law does not do anything that the federal law does not do so it should be allowed.

There is a lot of talk that Utah needs to pass an immigration law similar to that of Arizona. This is probably a bad idea for the state. Utah’s economy has a lot of similarities to Arizona. So many latinos are leaving Arizona causing business to dry up. I think the law is having effects that the original proponents did not intend. Check out this article. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/22/nation/la-na-immigration-phoenix-20100723

Arizona is harming its own economy through its immigration laws. This article begs the question of how the Arizona legislators thought that they were helping their state by passing the immigration legislation. Immigrants create jobs and make this country a better place. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/hispanics-flee-arizona-immigration-law

Registering and using E-Verify in Utah became manadatory for businesses with more than 15 employees on July 1, 2010. This program is to make sure that all employees are legal, it is an easy way to make sure that employeers know who they have hired or are hiring. As long as a business is registered for E-Verify, they can not be liable for the unlawful hiring of an illegal alien as defined in U.S.C. Section 1324a, as long as the business complies with Section 13-47-202. This registration is good for two years.

http://le.utah.gov/~2010/bills/sbillenr/sb0251.htm

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0715/Arizona-immigration-law-heads-to-court-with-1.2-million-war-chest

Seven law suits about Arizona’s immigration law have been filed and the first is being heard today.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/12/AR2010071204049.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

This article sums up the legal analysis of the Arizona immigration law. The general feeling is that despite how people feel, the Supreme Court does allow racial profiling. However, the Arizona law is likely to be preempted by federal law because it is better to have one federal law rather than a patchwork of 50 different laws for each state.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/11/holder-floats-possibility-racial-profiling-suit-arizona/

It will be interesting to see where this law suit leads. It is not totally clear if the immigration law that Arizona has enacted goes against the preemption doctrine. One would think that immigration is exclusively under the jurisdiction of the federal government. However, I am unsure how the Arizona law goes against what Congress has legislated. Congress has indicated what the rules are for coming into the country legally, the Arizona law does not alter that. It would be better if Congress changed the rules for how a person can legally be present in the country. That is the real problem here. If the federal government does not like the Arizona laws, changing the immigration laws so that most of the illegal immigrants suddenly had a lawful presence in the country would make the Arizona law pointless. I think the reason that the racial profiling argument was not raised yet is because it is a lot easier to prove after it has occurred and can be clearly seen through statistics and evidence.

I agree with what Pres. Obama said in his speech today. Reform of immigration laws is absolutely necessary. It is grossly ignorant to say that all the illegal immigrants just need to become legal. You ask any immigrant and they will tell you that is exactly what they want to do. However, because the way the immigration laws are structured, it is virtually impossible to achieve what everyone wants. The system is fundamentally flawed and does not reflect what society has come to accept as normal. Saying the immigration system is broken is an understatement. It was like the mechanic has installed the wrong part for the engine. It does not work.

The fact of the matter is that the United States needs these people. A lot of Americans have become very wealthy off the backs of immigrant work. There is also a significant portion of Americans that enjoy nice homes at a lower price because of immigrant work. The bottom line is that immigrants need to be treated better. As immigrant workers lived here, like all other humans, they started families and have had children that are American citizens by Constitutional right. What are we supposed to do? Kick out parents that take care of American citizens? Is that constitutional? Seems like the government would be doing a pretty bad job of looking out for the general welfare of a citizen who’s caregivers were just deported. Further, the United States cannot simply deport 11 million people. It would be a humanitarian crisis both in the United States and elsewhere. Read the article for a recap. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/07/obama-on-immigration/1