Immigration decision watched in Waco

Waco Tribune-Herald

By Bill Teeter Tribune-Herald staff writer

Thursday July 29, 2010

   

A federal judge’s decision to block provisions of Arizona’s controversial immigration law was not welcomed by some in McLennan County who want America’s borders toughened.

But a local immigration lawyer said the decision was the only way to go.

Susan Nelson, a Waco attorney who specializes in immigration law, said immigration regulation is a function of the federal government, not the states.

“The sections the judge struck definitely stepped on the toes of federal immigration law,” Nelson said. “I didn’t think there was any question it would be struck down.”

There has been talk in some quarters in Texas about similar legislation, but the federal court’s move discourages that, she said.

“If the Arizona law had been allowed to take effect, then you have Texas and everybody else jumping on the bandwagon,” Nelson said.

Some of the provisions raised questions about racial profiling and how to tell when somebody could be an illegal immigrant.

“As a white girl raised in Austin, I have less to fear, but if you are taking away someone else’s rights, you are taking away mine,” she said.

Others saw it differently.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ignored a prior court decision and prior shifts in responsibility from the federal to the state level, said Burt Hernandez, a Lorena resident active in the McLennan County Republican Party.

A 2005 Supreme Court case, Muehler v. Mena, showed police have the right to ask about immigration status, said Hernandez, a reserve police officer in Woodway.

He also cited a post-Sept. 11 decision by the FBI to take crimes that could be prosecuted under both state and federal law, such as bank robberies, and hand them off to local authorities to be handled under state law.

“I think she was dead wrong in her grounds,” Hernandez said of the judge.

State Rep. Doc Anderson, R-Waco, has been supportive of passing legislation similar to the Arizona law. He was traveling Wednesday, and his staff said he had not seen enough information about the decision to comment.

Immigrant arrests

Waco police don’t check immigration status before handing off arrested suspects to the McLennan County Jail, Waco police Sgt. Melvin Roseborough said.

If county jail personnel find out a prisoner may be illegal, that information is forwarded to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, McLennan County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Plemons said.

ICE officials then can tell the sheriff’s office to put an immigration hold on that person, Plemons said.

State Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, said Wednesday’s developments showed the need for national immigration reform.

“We need a reasonable immigration policy that addresses the need for some immigrant workers and also protects Americans’ jobs,” Dunnam said.

“It’s a national boundary, not just Texas’, so you have to have a national solution,” he said.

The Arizona law’s provisions were not a solution to immigration questions, he said.

“I don’t think it solves the underlying problem. They solved the symptoms, they don’t solve the problem,” he said.

Some of the Arizona law contains provisions that would have proved troublesome for everyone to comply with, he said. He referred to more stringent identification requirements.

“I can tell you I don’t want to have to drive around with my birth certificate in my glove box,” Dunnam said.

bteeter@wacotrib.com

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