Popular Government

These opening articles present different view-points on a controversial federal program that uses local law enforcement officials to help identify and deport suspected unauthorized immigrants. Edmond W.Caldwell Jr. describes the experience of several sheriffs and the support of the program by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association. Hannah Gill, Mai Thi Nguyen,Katherine Lewis Parker,and Deborah Weissman express concerns and criticisms focusing on perceived legal and social effects of the program.

Faced with what they consider a lack of comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level ,many states and localities are enacting their own immigration-related laws and ordinances. Many of these laws impose restrictions on unauthorized immigrants, while some aim to promote integration of immigrants into the society. Such laws raise a number of constitutional issues, including whether federal law preempts them. What is the permissible scope of state and local action in this area?

There is no general answer to this question, for the analysis varies across different areas of regulation. This article explains general principles of preemption and provides an analytical framework for determining whether state and local laws relating to housing, employment,and public benefits may be preempted by federal law (and thus invalidated). The article also briefly discusses free-speech and civil rights laws that may be violated by laws establishing English as the official language.

Increasingly in North Carolina and across the United States, people have stories to tell about how immigration has affected their lives. In a 2008 survey on immigration by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), nearly half of the respondents indicated that their communities have experienced growth in immigrant populations. Beyond creating pressure to provide services, this growth presents some particular challenges to service delivery because of language and cultural barriers and the difficulty of determining immigrants’ legal status. This article summarizes local governments’ choices among positions and practices related to immigration.

This article reviews past and current law and policy on immigration enforcement in the workplace. It specifically covers the following topics:

• Requirements for verification of employment eligibility, and related penalties, under IRCA

• Efforts to enforce immigration law in the workplace

• Standards, practices, and results of E-Verify

• Requirements and legal effects of the no-match rule

The identification requirements for obtaining a North Carolina driver’s license have changed significantly over the past fifteen years. Amendments to the state’s driver’s license requirements have been enacted to achieve various purposes not directly tied to the ability of an unauthorized immigrant to be licensed, including the enforcement of child support laws and residency requirements. Statutory amendments enacted after the federal REAL ID Act of 2005, however, have expressly aimed to prohibit the issuance of licenses to unauthorized immigrants. This article describes the evolution of the state law governing the issuance of driver’s licenses, the state’s current licensing requirements, the requirements of the REAL ID Act and its implementing regulations, and North Carolina’s efforts toward REAL ID compliance.

This issue of At the School contains four articles:

• Professorship Campaign to Honor Faculty Member David Lawrence
• Local Government Service Corps to Aid Twelve Communities 
• Graduates Leave MPA Program Well Prepared
• Award Created to Honor Faculty Member John Rubin