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34 St. & Loc. L. News 1 (2010-2011)

handle is hein.journals/stlolane34 and id is 1 raw text is: IIIN Section of State and Local Government Law Jhe Section serves as a collegialforumfor its members, the profession, and the public to provide leadership and educational resources in urban, state, and local government law andpolicy. Illegal Entry? State and Local Governments Step intothe IllegalImmigration Quagmire By H. Lawrence Hoyt ewspaper headlines, talk radio shows, and the nightly news all brought attention to Arizona's decision this summer to address illegal immigration itself-not waiting for Congress or the Administration to reform the federal immigration laws. The recent entry by state and local governments, against a backdrop of changing federal law and expectations, illustrates the challenges and confusing pattern of federal mandates and has resulted in significant litigation. Immigration Control Before 1996 Before 1996, the only express federal invitation to state and local authorities to become involved in immigration control was via the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), Pub. L. No. 99-603, 100 Stat. 3359 (1986) (codi- fied as amended at Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 274A-274B, employer sanctions provisions codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1324a-c (2000)).' That invitation was circum- scribed: state and local law enforcement agents were autho- rized to enforce the criminal provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, subject to the limitations of the state's laws and constitutional due process requirementS2; but, more importantly, all employers, including states and local governments themselves, were required to review eli- gibility for employment through the Form 1-9 process. See IRCA, 8 U.S.C. § 1324a(b).3 But the perceived failure of the federal government to adequately prevent, or swiftly remedy, the unlawful HLawrence Hoyt serves as the Boulder County, Colorado, Attorney, civil counselfor the county govern- ment. Hoyt chairs the Section's Diversity Committee. He would like to gratefuily acknowledge the assistance ofJacyn Hamilton, paralegal in the Boulder County Attorneyi Office, in the preparation ofthis article. presence in the United States of foreigners had begun to take a financial toll on states before 1996. In California, always a harbinger of popular trends and issues, the voters approved Proposition 187 (the Save Our State initiative) in November 1994. Placed on the statewide ballot by citi- zen initiative, this measure attempted to ban the provision of public services and benefits, including public education, non-emergency health care, cash, and other public assis- tance, to illegal aliens, and would have required state and contract service agencies to report persons seeking assis- tance who could not verify their lawful presence to police agencies and the California Attorney General. Although Proposition 187 never took effect because of injunctive relief granted by a federal district court, it did serve to raise this issue on the public stage and send a message to Congress that there was a problem, real or perceived, with the unlawful presence of individuals in the United States.4 Limited Federal Invitation for State/Local Government Involvement In 1996, Congress responded to pressure from California's Proposition 187, as well as mounting public sentiment about the alleged abuses of the federal public welfare (continued on page 10) * Chair's essage: Thank You, Donna Pugh, page3 Section News: Connecting Law Students to the Practice of Law, page 2 * Stop the Beach Renourishment-What Does It Mean, page 4 * he Book Corner. Homeland Security and E mer gency Management-A Legal Guide for State and Local Governments, page 6 *Supreme Court Watch: Otis McDonald H ad a Gun, page 7 Vol. 34, No. 1, Fall 2010

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