Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

The city of San Francisco is accusing a former lawyer of providing shoddy representation to clients with immigration problems even after giving up his license to practice law.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a lawsuit Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court seeking to shutter the Immigration Practice Group, a firm allegedly controlled by Martin Guajardo.

Guajardo gave up his law license in 2008 after he was accused of charging illegally high fees and failing to provide competent representation.

The lawsuit alleges that Guajardo nevertheless opened the law office and hired attorney Christopher Stender to act as a "front." They are accused of providing poor legal counsel resulting in the deportation of clients.

Neither Guajardo nor Stender immediately returned a phone call to the firm.

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

The California Supreme Court weighed in Monday on the politically charged immigration fray when it ruled that illegal immigrants are entitled to the same tuition breaks offered to in-state high school students to attend public colleges and universities.

While the ruling applies only to California, the case was closely watched nationally because nine other states, including New York and Texas, have similar laws.

Republican congressmen Lamar S. Smith of Texas and Steve King of Iowa filed a so-called friends of the court brief urging that illegal immigrants be denied the reduced rate. The politicians and others argued that federal legislation l
The lawsuit considered by the court was part of a broader legal assault led by immigration legal scholar and Kansas Secretary of State-elect Kris Kobach, who has filed numerous cases across the country seeking to restrict the rights of illegal immigrants.

He represented a group of U.S. students who filed the lawsuit seeking to invalidate the California law.

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

A federal appeals court appeared willing Monday to reinstate, but weaken, a central provision of an Arizona law allowing police to stop and question suspected illegal immigrants.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals indicated that it would authorize police to demand papers from those they reasonably suspected of being in the country illegally, but would not allow authorities to arrest or prosecute them under state law.

That would still allow suspects to be referred to U.S. authorities for deportation, however.

At an hourlong hearing in a packed San Francisco courtroom, two panel members suggested that a federal judge had gone too far when she blocked enforcement of all major provisions of the law.

Responding to an Obama administration lawsuit that claimed Arizona was interfering with federal regulation of immigration, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton issued an injunction July 28, less than 24 hours before the law was to take effect.

The judge barred Arizona from requiring police to order anyone they stopped for a crime, and reasonably suspected of being in the country illegally, to produce proof of legal status. She also blocked a provision allowing police to detain anyone they believed was deportable because of a previous conviction.

In addition, Bolton blocked provisions of the law making it a crime for illegal immigrants to seek work, and for a noncitizen to be in the state illegally or to fail to carry immigration documents.

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court has ruled against ruled against Proposition 200, a law that requires people to show proof of U.S. citizenship before registering to vote. The decision did, however, uphold the portion of the law that requires voters to show identification before entering the ballot box, CNN reports.

According to CNN, Governor Jan Brewer and Secretary of State Ken Bennett of Arizona rebuked the court's decision in a joint statement stating the decision "is an outrage and a slap in the face to all Arizonans who care about the integrity of their elections."

Arizona has undergone multiple legal battles concerning its immigration laws including SB 1070, which was passed in April and allows law enforcement officials in Arizona to request proof of legal immigration, residency, or citizenship of anyone they suspect might be an illegal immigrant.

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

Arizona's new immigration law illegally conflicts with federal statutes and undermines the nation's foreign policy, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice argued Friday.

Assistant Attorney General Tony West argued to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton acted properly when she barred the state from enforcing several key sections of the law. West said there is more than enough evidence to show the provisions are unconstitutional, a key element in getting an injunction.

But West, in legal papers filed Friday, also said there is more than enough evidence to show that letting Arizona begin enforcing SB1070 would cause "irreparable harm" to the country. And that, he said, outweighs any potential harm Arizona would suffer while the questions of the law's legality work their way through the legal system.

Friday's response is in direct response to arguments made by attorneys for Gov. Jan Brewer, who wants the federal appeals court to dissolve the injunction. They argue there is no conflict between what Arizona seeks to do and federal law.

And Brewer herself has said the state is harmed by any delay in implementing SB1070, continuing to bear the financial burden of having an estimated 400,000 unauthorized people in the state and providing services ranging from education to incarceration.

A three-judge panel will hear from both sides on Nov. 1 at the federal courthouse in San Francisco.

At stake are some of the principal provisions of the law which Brewer signed in April. They were set to take effect July 29 before Bolton barred them.

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

A measure called the Dream Act that would have given some illegal immigrants a path to citizenship died Tuesday in the U.S. Senate.

It would have given illegal immigrants who came here before they turned 16, a chance to become citizens if they meet certain conditions.

They'd have to graduate high school, either be a college student in good standing, or serve in the U.S. military. Then once that person either received the college diploma or finished their tour of duty, they would be granted permanent residency. After that, the person could become a U.S. citizen.

A Republican filibuster killed it in the senate, along with the Democrats' effort to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' for the military. The Dream Act has the support of the Defense Department, retired General Colin Powell, and politicians on both sides of the aisle. Sponsors of the immigration reform measure are expected to re-introduce it in the fall.

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

Immigration authorities have rescued more than three dozen immigrants who were locked inside a sweltering boarded-up bedroom in a Southern California house.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Wednesday some of the 37 immigrants from six Latin American countries had been held for weeks in the 10-by-10-foot room in Riverside and had gone several days without food.

The immigrants, mostly men, had been stripped of their shoes and were found lying on the floor. Three children under 3 years old were also found inside the room, said Debra Parker, assistant special agent in charge for ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Riverside.

Authorities say they began searching for the house after a caller reported smugglers had threatened to kill his relative when the family could not pay for his release. After scouring the area for two days, including with an infrared-equipped helicopter, officials searched the home Tuesday afternoon.

Smugglers often hold illegal immigrants in so-called drop houses for days or weeks while collecting payment for bringing them into the country.

Authorities also found seven other immigrants who were being smuggled across the Los Angeles area through the same network. The 44 immigrants, who are currently in ICE custody, are from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

Officials also arrested six suspected illegal immigrants in their probe of the smuggling group, Parker said.

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

Gov. Rick Perry has told just about anyone who will listen about his plan to dispatch elite teams of Texas Rangers to the border to do what he says the federal government won't — keep Texans safe from encroaching Mexican drug violence.

Just don't ask him for specifics.

While the Ranger Recon initiative has served as a strong rhetorical counterpoint when Perry slams the federal government, details about what the taxpayer-funded teams actually accomplish remain a secret.

State officials insist they do not tally arrests or drug and property seizures under the program, which they say doesn't have its own budget after more than a year in operation. They say the Ranger Recon teams are paid out of the state's larger border security initiative, but decline to put a dollar figure on the program's costs. Nor will they say how many of the state's 144 Rangers, the top criminal investigators in Texas, participate or where the teams have been active.

The Department of Public Safety, which oversees the program, said in response to an Associated Press public records request that the Rangers do no investigative work as part of the teams, but have engaged in about 10 "missions."

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

Gov. Rick Perry has told just about anyone who will listen about his plan to dispatch elite teams of Texas Rangers to the border to do what he says the federal government won't — keep Texans safe from encroaching Mexican drug violence.

Just don't ask him for specifics.

While the Ranger Recon initiative has served as a strong rhetorical counterpoint when Perry slams the federal government, details about what the taxpayer-funded teams actually accomplish remain a secret.

State officials insist they do not tally arrests or drug and property seizures under the program, which they say doesn't have its own budget after more than a year in operation. They say the Ranger Recon teams are paid out of the state's larger border security initiative, but decline to put a dollar figure on the program's costs. Nor will they say how many of the state's 144 Rangers, the top criminal investigators in Texas, participate or where the teams have been active.

The Department of Public Safety, which oversees the program, said in response to an Associated Press public records request that the Rangers do no investigative work as part of the teams, but have engaged in about 10 "missions."

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://breakinglegalnews.com/.