11/24/2011
Luther Strange, the Alabama Attorney General, believes that the immigration law passed by the state Legislature will eventually land in the United States Supreme Court.
In a speech delivered at a combined meeting of the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, Strange said, “Once it is there I think the Supreme Court will decide what you can and can’t do.” The Alabama Attorney General is a Rotarian.
As the top law enforcement officer of the state, Strange, a Republican, said that he campaigned in favor of the E-Verify system for employers to use in verifying the residency status of their workers.
The Alabama Attorney General who is locked in a dispute with the U.S. Justice Department regarding federal request for school districts to turn over information gathered on their students under the state immigration law, said that he is not opposed to turning over the information under different conditions.
He said, “It was the civil rights division of the Justice Department that did sort of an end-run and requested the information from the schools. They’re alleging we violated civil rights but they refused to provide us the evidence. I’m not opposed to giving them whatever they’re entitled to, but we want the same from them.”
He also said there is sufficient recognition that immigration is presumed to be the duty of the federal government. Nevertheless, he along with several state governments believe that the feds have relinquished their responsibility.
The immigration law, which was passed by the Alabama Legislature, is reputed to be the toughest immigration law in the United States. The heavily Republican legislators passed the measure, but did not seek the legal advices of Strange when they crafted the law.
