DOJ Sues Public Colleges Over Immigration Rule

In its mission to prevent states from enforcing immigration laws the Obama Administration has filed another lawsuit against Arizona, this time accusing a public college system of discrimination for requiring job applicants to furnish proof of legal residency before getting hired.

The complaint comes less than two months after the administration sued the state and its governor, Jan Brewer, to halt enforcement of its new immigration control law which, ironically, was modeled after the existing federal statute that’s seldom enforced. It bans “sanctuary city” policies, makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. without proper documentation and allows local police to check suspects’ immigration status.

In that suit the Justice Department accuses Arizona of “intruding” on the government’s authority by passing a state version of its immigration laws. A few weeks go a federal judge ruled in favor of the government, temporarily blocking the law’s key provisions—allowing police to check a person’s immigration status and requiring immigrants to prove they’re authorized to be in the country—from being implemented.

Now the feds want the taxpayer-financed Maricopa Community College system to stop making prospective employees show proof of legal status. With 10 campuses and two skill centers in the Phoenix area, Maricopa County Colleges require that job applicants who aren’t U.S. citizens show their green cards to ensure eligibility.

This is discriminatory because it treats authorized workers differently during the hiring process based on their citizenship status, according to the renowned illegal immigrant advocate (Thomas Perez) appointed by Obama to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Therefore the community college system is demonstrating a “pattern or practice of discrimination,” Perez asserts in a news report this week.

Perez, Maryland’s former Labor Secretary, used to serve on the board of a controversial, taxpayer-funded advocacy organization (Casa de Maryland) that helps illegal immigrants by operating day laborer facilities and offering free legal services. He has long fought for the rights of illegal aliens in the U.S. by supporting Mexican and Guatemalan-issued cards as valid identification in this country, favoring discounted tuition at public colleges and providing advice to illegal aliens on how to deal with police.

It’s not surprising that he’s leading a fierce effort to combat immigration enforcement. Besides the two lawsuits, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is also under Justice Department “investigation” for his agency’s unfounded “discriminatory” practices in operating a successful immigration enforcement partnership between local and federal authorities.