Supreme Court Rules that Immigrants Have Rights, Too

Whatever one thinks of immigration policy in this country, it is not OK to remove the element of intent from a criminal statute that clearly requires it. And the broader attack on the constitutional rights of immigrants to move a broken Bush policy scheme puts everyone’s rights at risk.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano appears to understand this as she has significantly tightened the requirements for bringing immigration prosecutions and turned the focus of those prosecutions on employers. Under new Department of Homeland Security guidelines, “ICE must prioritize the criminal prosecution of actual employers who knowingly hire illegal workers because such employers are not sufficiently punished or deterred by the arrest of their illegal work force.” And ICE must, “obtain indictments, criminal arrest or search warrants, or a commitment from a U.S. attorney’s office to prosecute the targeted employer, before arresting employees for civil immigration violations at a work site.”

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