Prosecutors have started dismissing identity-theft cases in light of a judge’s preliminary injunction that bars Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and others from enforcing state laws that make it a felony to use a stolen identity to obtain employment.

But legal hurdles remain for the hundreds of immigrants arrested under the contested laws, with many facing additional charges or dealing with the ramifications of being an undocumented immigrant with a felony.

Workplace raids had become the backbone of Arpaio’s immigration-enforcement platform as courts have gradually stripped the office of other devices that critics say targeted undocumented immigrants.

A recent lawsuit aims to dismantle this last legal foothold, and U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell this month ordered law enforcement and prosecutors to stop pursuing ID-theft cases until he issues a final ruling on the case.

The suit focuses on two state statutes, passed in 2007 and 2008, that plaintiffs say were written to make life so difficult for undocumented immigrants that they would opt to “self-deport.” Further, they say, the laws are unconstitutional because they are pre-empted by federal law. (Read more from “Federal Judge Orders Sheriff to Stop Enforcing Law” HERE)

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By Jazz Shaw. Welcome to 2015, with the usual hopes for new beginnings and fresh starts. Along with that, there is the expected flood of new laws going into effect all across the nation as proof of the various legislative bodies getting the work of the people done. The people of California in particular will see the fruits of their elected officials’ labors if they show up at the DMV. (As if the lines weren’t long enough already.) Millions of illegal immigrants will now be able to show up without fear of arrest or deportation and get themselves a shiny new driver’s license.

If you needed any further proof of exactly how far the immigration situation in the country has deteriorated, California has joined several other states in completely throwing in the towel here. It’s long been established that driving is a privilege, not a right, and that privilege can be taken away for any of a number of offenses which include driving while impaired, failing to obtain proper registration, inspection and insurance documents or just running too many stop signs. But not, it seems, for violating the nation’s borders, entering illegally, failing to pay taxes or the rest of the fundamental rules under our system of laws which are broken daily by illegal aliens.

There are some minor arguments in favor of of the plan, I admit. Foreign visitors don’t always know the rules of the road in America, so teaching them the proper driving practices might cut down slightly on accidents. But does that advantage come anywhere near overriding the obvious arguments against this? Also, in addition to legitimizing the activities of those who are not legitimate citizens, a piece of identification such as a license if a powerful talisman. True, these new, “special” licenses have a disclaimer on them which indicates that they are not valid as federal identification, but how many people will initially be trained to be aware of the distinction? (Read more about the driver’s licenses to illegal aliens HERE)

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More than 90 Percent of a Illegal Aliens Group Never Showed Up to Their Immigration Hearings

By Mark Krikorian. Once again, local-TV investigative reporters are showing up their national counterparts.

Recall that this summer the administration insisted the thousands of Central American illegal immigrants it was waving across the border would be put into deportation proceedings and those who did not qualify for asylum would be removed. You’d think, then, that there’d be bigshot D.C. journalists interested in finding out how many actually bothered to attend their immigration hearings.

You’d be wrong. . .

Looking at the completed cases of people who snuck over the border and were released over a three-month period, the reporter found that more than 90 percent of them didn’t show up for their immigration hearings and joined the illegal population. Surprise! (Read more from this story HERE)

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