Musings on Immigration

The Plaintiffs' litigation team, of which I am proud to be a part, just left oral argument in front of Judge Thrash. Omar Jadwat and Karen Tumlin both did a terrific job in their arguments on the constitutional issues and the severe harm that will befall immigrants, US citizens and permanent residents if HB 87 is allowed to go into effect. Judge Thrash had numerous questions for the government lawyer, who argued, incorrectly that if all these undocumented people wanted to, they could just fix their status and become legal. The most honest thing the government attorney said, after repeat questioning by the Judge, was that US citizens who drive around their parents who are undocumented, and take them to the sore for groceries, and while doing so commit a traffic offense absolutely face arrest and jail for transporting and harboring. In fact, the government attorney compared such an activity (helping your mom get groceries) is just like cocaine possession. When she said this an aud...

In the courtroom. Counsel table for plaintiffs is full with 6 attorneys all prepared to argue the various aspects of the motion. Three government counsel from The state attorney General's office are also here to argue their case. Judge Thrash had said in an earlier status conference that he was "known to rule from the bench" so hopefully he will do so today in favor of the Plaintiffs. Karen Tumlin and Omar Jadwat are the lead attorneys on oral argument for the plaintiffs. We expect to start the arguments at 10 am. No blogging allowed so I will report back in after the hearing!

Today Federal District Court Judge Thrash will hear both OUR request for a Preliminary Injunction to temporarily stop HB 87 from going into effect (or at least parts of it), AND the State of Georgia's Motion to Dismiss parts of the cas, and some of the Defendants. I plan on live blogging the oral arguments and decision of the Judge, if permitted. If not, I will post immediately after the hearing. The reasons for granting the preliminary injunction are simple, but the standard is quite high, so there are no guarantees that it will be granted. The arguments by the government for their Motion to Dismiss are without any legal merit, but they were obligated to make the attempt. Ultimately the fate hundreds of thousands of people rests in the hands of Judge Thrash, a Clinton appointee who has been known to rule from the bench, and is someone who is bold enough to stand up to the Georgia State Legislature and say "no, you cannot violate the Constitution!" More to follow.