Unrestricted Power
Over the weekend, an Alabama law went into effect that requires law enforcement to try to verify the immigration status of anyone involved in a routine traffic stop or arrest if a "reasonable suspicion" exists that the person is in the country illegally. The law criminalizes the "willful failure" of a person in the country illegally to carry federal immigration papers. It requires public schools to ask about the legal status of children born in foreign countries and that of their parents. Contracts knowingly entered into with illegal immigrants will be considered invalid, and illegal immigrants will not be allowed to enter into "business transactions" with the state, including applying for driver's or business licenses.
The reasonable suspicion "standard" gives police unlimited power to investigate anyone's immigration status because there is no penalty to a police officer who gets it wrong. In a normal traffic stop, if a police officer searches a car or a person in it without reasonable suspicion, the fruits of that search will be suppressed.
This blog post is presented by Benowitz LLP. Founded by DC criminal defense attorney David Benowitz, the firm handles criminal, personal injury, and immigration cases. For more information about the firm's personal injury practice, you can visit the Washington DC Personal Injury Attorneys website.
