Jan Brewer

Brewer Pledged Cash For Immigration Fight, Instead Spent It Buying Copies Of Her Own Book

Nick R. Martin | February 2, 2012, 11:47AM

Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) signing copies of her book, "Scorpions for Breakfast," in Irvine, CA in November 2011.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) launched a special fundraising political action committee in October, pledging to use the money to fight illegal immigration and take on other issues she believes in. But based on financial disclosures filed this week, she has so far used it to do little more than buy copies of her own book.

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Jan Brewer

Brewer Has History Of Getting Facts Wrong

Nick R. Martin | January 30, 2012, 5:40AM

Back in 2010 as she defended her state's harsh immigration law, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) told a newspaper reporter that she was deeply hurt by the terrible names people were calling her. The worst, she said, were the comparisons to the Nazis.

"They are awful," she said. "Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lost him when I was 11 because of that...and then to have them call me Hitler's daughter. It hurts. It's ugliness beyond anything I've ever experienced."

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Jan Brewer

Obama's Tarmac Tiff Was With Foe Partly Of His Own Making

Nick R. Martin | January 26, 2012, 1:41PM

We may never know exactly what President Obama said to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) during his trip to the state on Wednesday, but it's clear things didn't go well.

What was supposed to be a trip focusing on jobs and innovation a day after the State of the Union instead became a story about finger pointing and who said what to whom during a brief exchange on an airport tarmac.

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Zeituni Onyango

Three Years Later, ICE Still Probing Who Leaked Immigration Status Of President Obama's Aunt

Ryan J. Reilly | January 13, 2012, 3:30PM

Three years, two months and a week -- more than 1100 days -- after the 2008 presidential election, internal investigators at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are still probing who leaked the immigration status of then-Sen. Barack Obama's aunt Zeituni Onyango just three days before voters went to the polls.

Relevant files from ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility are "part of an ongoing investigation" and will not be disclosed, an ICE official wrote in a Jan. 11 response to TPM's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents related to the investigation.

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Joe Arpaio

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: DOJ 'Sneak Attack' Is Just Part Of Obama's Reelection Bid (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 16, 2011, 3:35PM

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Friday that the Justice Department's extensive three-and-a-half-year probe of his Maricopa County Sheriff's Office was all just part of a bid for President Obama to win the Hispanic vote in 2012, even though the investigation began five months before Obama was even elected.

Responding to the Civil Rights Division's findings that Arpaio "promoted a culture of bias" within the MCSO where detention officers called Latino inmates "wetbacks" and "Mexican bitches," Arpaio took to Fox News on Friday afternoon to criticize Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez for opening up DOJ's Thursday press conference with the words "buenos dias."

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Joe Arpaio

Arpaio Opponents: He's Not Gonna Go Quietly

Jillian Rayfield | December 16, 2011, 1:13PM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's critics say they know that despite the Justice Department's scathing report on bias in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, Joe Arpaio is not going down without a fight.

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Joe Arpaio

Arpaio Critics: Want Reform? Sheriff Joe Has To Go

Ryan J. Reilly and Jillian Rayfield | December 15, 2011, 5:12PM

The findings in DOJ's investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office didn't surprise many local longtime critics of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, many of whom said Thursday that his departure would be the only way to put a stop to his office's deep-seated bias.

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Janet Napolitano

DHS Cuts Off Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Access To ICE Programs

Ryan J. Reilly | December 15, 2011, 2:04PM

Updated: 2:55PM

The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement just cut off the Maricopa County's Sheriff's Office's access to the Secure Communities program and terminated an agreement which lets them detain individuals in the country illegally after their initial arrest.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement that the decision was based on the Justice Department's findings of discriminatory policing practices by MCSO and Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

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Alabama

Feds Tug On Purse Strings Of Alabama Cops Over Immigration Law Enforcement

Ryan J. Reilly | December 6, 2011, 7:55PM

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has taken the unusual step of warning 156 local law enforcement agencies in Alabama that they'll lose their federal funding if they don't comply with federal civil rights laws when enforcing the state's harsh immigration law.

"As you undertake law enforcement activity under H.B. 56, it is critical that your enforcement of this law does not result in the unlawful stopping, questioning, searching, detaining, or arresting of persons in violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, or in the targeting of racial or ethnic minorities in a manner that violates the Fourteenth Amendment," Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez wrote in a letter dated Friday and sent to reporters on Tuesday.

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William Gheen

Anti-Immigration Group May Shut Down And Rebrand Because Of Financial Issues

Jillian Rayfield | December 1, 2011, 4:35PM

William Gheen, head of ALIPAC

The anti-immigration group ALIPAC may be forced to shut down and relaunch because of fundraising issues, which the group attributes to the economic downturn, the Republican field and, of course, President Obama.

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Utah

Obama Justice Department Sues Utah Over Immigration Law

Ryan J. Reilly | November 22, 2011, 5:40PM

Updated: Nov. 22, 6:10PM

Add Utah to the list of states the federal government has sued over their controversial immigration laws.

In a suit filed in federal court in Utah late Tuesday, Justice Department officials argue that the government "has preeminent authority to regulate immigration matters."

"Utah's adoption of its own immigration policy disrupts the federal government's ability both to administer and enforce the federal immigration laws including as set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"), and to establish and pursue federal policies and priorities pertaining to, inter alia, the identification, apprehension, detention and removal of aliens unlawfully in the United States," the suit claims.

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Department of Homeland Security

DHS Will Review All Incoming Cases In Immigration Court

David Taintor | November 17, 2011, 3:34PM

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

The Obama administration on Thursday started a review of all incoming -- and some pending -- deportation cases, the Department of Homeland Security said.

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eBay

Foreign National Fined $13K For Trying To Sell Spy Plane On EBay

Jillian Rayfield | November 9, 2011, 3:08PM

A judge ordered a Filipino foreign national to pay a $13k in fines and serve three years of supervised release for buying a military spy plane and trying to re-sell it over eBay.

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Alabama

DOJ To Alabama AG: You Can't Tell Schools Not To Give Us Enrollment Data

Ryan J. Reilly | November 4, 2011, 2:03PM

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange (R)

Yes, Alabama school districts, you do have to turn over your enrollment data to the Justice Department.

Earlier this week, DOJ wrote a number of school districts requesting enrollment data as part of their investigation into whether Alabama's harsh immigration law is forcing students out of school, in violation of federal law.

But Republican Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange questioned DOJ's authority to request the data and interim school superintendent Larry Craven told schools to hold off on turning over any data until the disagreement was settled.

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DOJ Civil Rights Division

Feds To Alabama: No, You Can't Discriminate Against School Kids

Ryan J. Reilly | November 1, 2011, 12:40PM

The Justice Department sent a letter to school districts in Alabama on Tuesday reminding them that they can't deny a child access to public education due to his or her immigration status.

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez's letter comes after he expressed concern that Alabama's anti-illegal immigration law was keeping children out of school because their parents are scared about the impact of the law. A federal judge has blocked portions of the harsh anti-illegal immigration measure.

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South Carolina

DOJ Files Suit Against South Carolina Immigration Law, Says Others Could Come Soon

Ryan J. Reilly | October 31, 2011, 5:10PM

The Justice Department filed suit on Monday to block South Carolina's immigration law, saying that the law interfered with the federal government's supremacy on the issue of immigration.

South Carolina's statute, enacted on June 27, criminalizes the presence of an illegal immigrant in the state. DOJ's complaint says that the Constitution and federal law "do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country." South Carolina's law, DOJ officials claimed, "clearly conflicts with the policies and priorities adopted by the federal government and therefore cannot stand."

"Pushing undocumented immigrants out of one state to another is simply not a solution to our immigration problems," DOJ Assistant Attorney General Tony West said in a press call on Monday. "We believe South Carolina's law... crosses the constitutional line."

West mentioned that DOJ has had discussions with the Attorney Generals of Utah, Georgia and Indiana about their immigration laws.

"The United States will decide whether and when the bring lawsuits challenging particular state laws," West said.

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Immigration

Jan Brewer: Public Response To AZ Immigration Law Was Like 'Waterboarding'

Brian Fung | October 21, 2011, 11:47AM

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is spitting up venom after eating scorpions for breakfast.

Brewer's arthropodically-titled new book, which hits stores Nov. 1, lashes out at the Obama administration over its opposition to her push for SB 1070, the state's anti-immigration law critics said would lead to racial profiling. In the period leading up to the bill's passage, Brewer writes, the flood of feedback from either side of the debate threatened to overwhelm her. The torrent was so strong that she explicitly compares the experience to waterboarding, the Arizona Republic reports.

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ICE

Obama Admin Sets Record For Number Of Illegal Immigrants Deported

Ryan J. Reilly | October 18, 2011, 3:03PM

President Barack Obama

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported more illegal immigrants in fiscal year 2011 than in any other year in its history, the agency announced Tuesday.

Overall, the agency removed 396,906 individuals, nearly 55 percent (or 216,698) of whom had been convicted of felonies or misdemeanors, ICE said. That group included 1,119 illegal immigrants convicted of homicide and "5,848 aliens convicted of sexual offenses; 44,653 aliens convicted of drug related crimes; and 35,927 aliens convicted of driving under the influence," according to ICE.

"Smart and effective immigration enforcement relies on setting priorities for removal and executing on those priorities," ICE Director John Morton said in a statement.

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Alabama

Appeals Court Partially Blocks Enforcement Of Alabama Immigration Law

Ryan J. Reilly | October 14, 2011, 1:45PM

Immigration bill protest at the state Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, March 2011.

Updated: Oct. 14, 2:35PM

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked parts of a controversial Alabama immigration law.

The provisions that were enjoined -- section 10 and section 28 -- make it a crime for illegal immigrants to not have proper documentation and also make Alabama schools track the immigration status of their students.

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Thomas Perez

DOJ Official Worried About 'Vigilante Enforcement' Of Alabama's Harsh Immigration Law

Ryan J. Reilly | October 14, 2011, 12:10PM

Update, Oct. 14, 2:27PM: An appeals court has blocked certain provisions of the law.

It's "very clear" that Alabama's new anti-illegal immigration law is keeping children who are U.S. citizens out of school because their parents are scared about its impact, Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez told reporters Friday.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Joyce Vance also said that federal officials were "hearing some concerns about vigilante enforcement of the law by private citizens."

"I don't want to overstate, we have heard folks expressing concern that this will take place" but haven't heard any actual reports of such incidents, Vance said. "I never like to be behind crime, I'd like to be in front of it."

"We always maintain awareness and alertness of potential hate crimes, so you know when we say 'vigilanteism' that really means the same thing as the traditional work that we do ensuring that the hate crimes laws in this country are fully enforced," Vance said.

Perez said that they were reviewing some "very troubling data" from schools regarding absentee and dropout data since the law went into effect. He also said there were getting reports of increases in bullying in the wake of the law.

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Minuteman PAC

Minuteman PAC Fundraising For Joe Arpaio's 'Cold Case Posse'

Jillian Rayfield | September 26, 2011, 11:31AM

Minuteman volunteer Haskell (no last name) of Houston, looks across the Mexico border from atop his vehicle as a Border Patrol helicopter passes overhead.

Minuteman PAC wants to capitalize on that key subset of anti-immigration activists who are birthers.

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Steve King

Steve King Says Obama's 'Drunken Uncle Omar' Should Be Called Before Congress (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | September 13, 2011, 11:56AM

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) wants to bring President Obama's uncle, Onyango Obama, before Congress to testify on whether he received preferential treatment after he was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.

"We have to bring drunken 'Uncle Omar' in front of the House Judiciary Committee, drill down into this, and tell America what's going on," King told Fox News, referring to Obama's uncle, who is in the country illegally.

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Lamar Smith

Lamar Smith: Obama's 'Backdoor Amnesty' Benefits 'Drunk-Driving Illegal Immigrants Like His Uncle'

Ryan J. Reilly | September 9, 2011, 2:20PM

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)

Updated: September 9, 2011, 3:45PM

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) is accusing President Barack Obama of a "double standard" because his uncle, an illegal immigrant, was released from prison after he was arrested from driving under the influence.

Obama's uncle Onyango Obama was arrested in Massachusetts last month, charged with failing to yield, operating a motor vehicle to endanger and a DUI.

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Joe Arpaio

Steven Seagal And Arpaio Deputies Sued For Killing Puppy During Tank Raid On AZ Man's Home

Jillian Rayfield | September 1, 2011, 1:20PM

Stephen Seagal

Actor and "Lawman" Steven Seagal is being sued for conducting a raid on an Arizona man's home alongside deputies of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, which allegedly resulted in the accidental death of the man's puppy.

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Alabama

Federal Judge Blocks Alabama's Immigration Law

Jillian Rayfield | August 29, 2011, 3:51PM

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R)

A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction against Alabama's controversial immigration crackdown, ruling that she needed more time to determine whether the law is constitutional. The law had been scheduled to go into effect on September 1st.

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Alabama

Judge: AL Immigration Law Could Pave Way For Unlawful Arrest Suits

Jillian Rayfield | August 24, 2011, 3:37PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

A federal judge presiding in the lawsuit over Alabama's immigration crackdown said in a hearing Wednesday that "there are a lot of problems with this statute," and that it could lead to a number of unlawful arrest suits.

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Department of Justice

DOJ's Suit Against Alabama Immigration Law Headed To Court

Jillian Rayfield | August 23, 2011, 4:57PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

The Department of Justice and lawyers for the state of Alabama will face-off in federal court Wednesday over the state's controversial immigration law.

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Department of Homeland Security

Report: ICE Took Action Against Illegal Immigrants After Traffic Violations, Loitering

Jillian Rayfield | August 19, 2011, 8:59AM

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

A report on the Department of Homeland Security's "Secure Communities" immigration enforcement program by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) finds that in 127 cases, the DHS took action against illegal immigrants for minor offenses, despite calling for a focus on "highest enforcement priorities" like convicted felons or national security threats.

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Immigration

DHS Halts Some Deportation Cases, Will Conduct Case By Case Review

Jillian Rayfield | August 18, 2011, 5:45PM

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that it would change the way it handles deportation cases of illegal immigrants to allow those who qualify to apply to stay in the country on a work permit, while prioritizing the cases of convicted criminals.

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Russell Pearce

Judge OKs Recall Election Against Author Of AZ Immigration Law

Jillian Rayfield | August 15, 2011, 9:43AM

State Senator Russell Pearce (R-AZ)

An Arizona judge has given the go-ahead for a recall election of state Sen. Russell Pearce (R), who authored the state's controversial immigration law.

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Department of Homeland Security

DHS Says States Can't Opt Out Of Program To Deport Illegal Immigrants With Criminal Records

Jillian Rayfield | August 10, 2011, 6:00AM

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

The Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer require a governor's signature before it implements a controversial program that allows states to share information about illegal immigrants with criminal records -- which is often used to deport them.

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Department of Justice

DOJ Files Lawsuit Against Alabama Immigration Law

Jillian Rayfield | August 1, 2011, 6:09PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit challenging Alabama's immigration crackdown, arguing that the law is unconstitutional because it interferes with federal enforcement of immigration policies.

The DOJ has asked the courts to grant a preliminary injunction against the law, which is scheduled to go into effect September 1st, because it will cause "irreparable harm" if allowed to stand until the law can work its way through the court system.

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Immigration

Man To Plead Guilty To Trying To Sell Military Spy Plane Over EBay

Jillian Rayfield | July 27, 2011, 3:18PM

Soldier holding unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) RQ-11 Raven

A foreign national is expected to plead guilty on Thursday to buying a military spy plane and then trying to resell it on eBay.

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Georgia

Tough Immigration Regulations In Effect In Georgia And South Carolina

Jillian Rayfield | July 1, 2011, 6:00AM

Though a federal judge temporarily blocked parts of Georgia's strict new immigration law this week, the rest of the law will go into effect Friday, including one provision that would penalize people who use a fake ID to get a job with up to 15 years in jail and up to $250,000 in fines.

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Immigration

Journalist Jose Vargas Says He's An Undocumented Immigrant, Will Fight For Dream Act

Ryan J. Reilly | June 22, 2011, 10:50AM

Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Jose Antonio Vargas revealed Wednesday that he is an undocumented immigrant who discovered his status when he visited the DMV when he was 16. He says he'll lobby for the Dream Act, a bill that would give young people who were educated in this country a path to legal permanent residency.

Vargas revealed his status in a piece he wrote for the New York Times and in an interview with ABC News.

He first came to the United States from the Philippines in 1993 when he was 12. Vargas was able to obtain a license from Oregon using the address of the father of a friend, and that license didn't expire until earlier this year. In the meantime he launched a career in journalism, working at the Washington Post, the Huffington Post and profiling Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg for the New Yorker.

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Georgia

Judge Hears Arguments Over Georgia's Immigration Crackdown

Jillian Rayfield | June 21, 2011, 5:45AM

A federal judge heard arguments Monday from civil rights and immigrant rights groups over an immigration law in Georgia, which they argue is unconstitutional and encroaches on federal authority.

The ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center filed a lawsuit to block the law, and asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash to issue an injunction until the case is decided. Supporters of the law argue that the law was necessary because the federal government has failed to secure the borders.

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Joe Arpaio

DOJ Settles With Sheriff Joe Arpaio After He Gives Up Docs For Discrimination Probe

Ryan J. Reilly | June 2, 2011, 4:45PM

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the controversial anti-immigration official under federal investigation because his police practices and jail operations allegedly discriminate based on national origin, has reached a settlement with the Justice Department requiring him to turn over documents he's refused to give investigators.

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Citizens For A Better Arizona

Arizonans File To Recall Author Of Controversial Immigration Law

Jillian Rayfield | June 1, 2011, 10:22AM

State Senator Russell Pearce (R-AZ)

A group of Arizonans filed a petition Tuesday to recall the state's Senate President Russell Pearce (R), who authored the state's controversial immigration law and has also dabbled in tentherism and birtherism.

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Arizona

Supreme Court Says Arizona Can Punish Businesses That Hire Illegal Immigrants

Eric Lach | May 26, 2011, 3:50PM

The Supreme Court Thursday upheld an Arizona law, passed in 2007, that allows the state to punish business that hire workers who are in the country illegally.

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Utah

Federal Judge Blocks Utah's Immigration Enforcement Law

Jillian Rayfield | May 11, 2011, 11:41AM

After being in effect for less than 15 hours, Utah's Arizona-style immigration enforcement law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge, pending a decision in a class-action lawsuit brought by civil rights groups.

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