Immigration Law

JUDGE BLOCKS OKLAHOMA IMMIGRATION LAW FROM TAKING EFFECT

By Greg Siskind

Wow. Oklahoma passed one of the nation's toughest immigration laws and the Sooner state's legislation has been the model for anti-immigrant groups around the country. And now Robin Cauthron, a US District Court Judge, has granted a preliminary injunction suspending the law from taking force due to concerns that the plaintiffs, the US Chamber of Commerce and various civil rights groups, are "substantially likely to establish" that the Oklahoma law is preempted by the Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986. In other words, the law appears to violate the Supremacy clause of the US Constitution. Oklahoma's governor and Attorney General, defendants in the suit, had the Chutzpah to claim that Congress actually infringed upon the lawmaking authority of Oklahoma when it passed the 1986 immigration act, a charge the judge quickly dismissed.

The decision can be viewed here. Download okahoma_preliminary_injunction.pdf

Full post as published by Greg Siskind's Blog on June 05, 2008 (boomark / email).