Decision here. Not decided on Second Amendment or other RKBA grounds. Very straightforward application of existing doctrine on equal protection and legal aliens. In short, state (but not federal) discrimination against legal aliens is subject to strict scrutiny. There is an exception for “governmental functions” which involve discretion in self-governance of the polity–such as voting, […]
Archive | Immigration
Jim Ho on the Fourteenth Amendment and Children of Illegal (and Legal) Aliens
Jim is a very smart guy, as well as a pretty solid conservative (he clerked for Justice Thomas, and was until recently the State Solicitor of Texas), and he has actually studied the subject closely; so I thought I’d reprint (with permission) his Wall Street Journal op-ed from yesterday, which argues that the Fourteenth Amendment […]
Political Attitudes of Russian Jewish Immigrants
By Ilya Somin on January 3, 2011 2:19 pm in Communism, Conservatism, Immigration, Libertarianism, Russia
In a comment on my last post on Russian Jewish immigration, University of North Carolina law professor and blogger Eric Muller writes: Again and again I find myself wondering to what extent it’s true that Jewish refugees/emigres from Soviet totalitarianism (and their offspring) tend to have a libertarian and/or conservative political orientation. Does anyone know […]
The Jackson-Vanik Amendment and Jewish Emigration from the USSR
I agree with most of what co-blogger Sasha Volokh says in his post on Gal Beckerman’s important new book on the political struggle over Jewish emigration from the USSR. For example, it is indeed true (and in retrospect, very interesting) that the campaign united many ideologically disparate groups in the US. When I worked for […]
California Statute Allowing In-State College Tuition for Some Illegal Aliens Not Preempted by Federal Law
So the California Supreme Court unanimously held Monday, in Martinez v. Regents, reversing a California Court of Appeal decision I had blogged about two years ago. I don’t have much to say on the subject, except that it involves the question whether the particular language of two federal statutes (8 U.S.C. § 1623 and 8 […]
A Chinese Parallel to My Soviet-Era Emigration Experience
In response to my memoir about emigrating from the Soviet Union, a Chinese-American reader e-mailed me the following [posted with permission of the author]: Thank you for posting your memoir. I really enjoyed reading it. I can completely identify with your experiences, as my family also had to make its escape from a Communist country, […]
An Immigration Memoir
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) runs a fascinating website that posts memoirs of Russian Jewish immigrants who arrived over the last 40 years. A friend of the family who runs the site asked me to write up my own story for them. Since HIAS helped out my parents when we first arrived in the […]
More Thoughts on the AZ Immigration Ruling
A few more thoughts on Judge Bolton’s ruling in the Arizona immigration case. As noted below, on Wednesday Judge Bolton issued a preliminary injunction blocking several key provisions of Arizona’s law from taking effect on the grounds that the federal government is likely to succeed in arguing that some of its provisions (but not others) […]
(Very) Preliminary Thoughts on the Arizona Immigration Case
I just read the opinion. This probably isn’t very helpful, but here are some quickly-assembled thoughts nonetheless. The first thing to know is that Judge Bolton’s opinion is based on a preemption theory. That is, her view is that some of the sections of the state law are preempted by federal immigration law. The gist […]
Judge Enjoins Most of AZ Immigration Law
This morning, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton issued a preliminary injunction blocking key provisions of Arizona’s immigration law from taking effect on the grounds that these provisions are likely to be preempted by federal law. The Arizona Republic reports: Key parts of Senate Bill 1070 that will not go into effect Thursday: • The […]
Opinio Juris’ Peter Spiro on the Arizona Lawsuit
Temple University law professor Peter Spiro, friend and Opinio Juris co-blogger, was interviewed by one of the Wall Street Journal blogs on the likely holdings in the Arizona lawsuit by the federal government. Parts of his WSJ response can be found here at Opinio Juris. Peter expands in a later Opinio Juris post. (I do […]
DoJ Files Suit Against Arizona Immigration Law
Yesterday the Justice Department filed suit against Arizona’s controversial immigration law, alleging that it is preempted by federal law and seeking an injunction against its enforcement. The NYT reports: The Justice Department argues the law would divert federal and local law enforcement officers by making them focus on people who may not have committed crimes, […]
Shedding Light on the AZ Immigration Law
Opinions about AB 1070 — Arizona’s controversial new immigration law — are everywhere. Serious analysis? Not so much. Now several professors at the University of Arizona have just posted a preliminary analysis of the billon SSRN. It’s a useful paper, and they are soliciting feedback.
More on the SG’s Brief in U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Candelaria
Like Stewart, I am interested in the Solicitor General’s decision to file a brief recommending cert in U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Candelaria. I recommend readers to his post (and the comment thread), even if I don’t agree with every point. Here are my initial thoughts on the SG’s filing. The Supreme Court’s CVSG request […]
Bringing a case against Arizona before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Apparently that is the plan of several Mexican and Arizona legislators. (Original story in Spanish from El Semanario here.) The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is the Oranization of American States administrative body responsible for hemispheric human rights enforcement. Generally speaking, if the Commission finds that the government has violated human rights, the Commission attempts to resolve […]