Go Alabama! Maryland’s gift to the Holder Justice Department, Thomas Perez, at it again

Update November 9th:  For more on this critical states rights issue, read this.

Perez:  I need to know who the illegal alien students are, but how dare the State of Alabama ask!

I assume readers have been following the news on how the Obama Justice Department, under Attorney General Eric Holder, has been doing everything it can to stop individual states from getting their illegal alien problems under control.

First it was Arizona, then Alabama and most recently South Carolina.

But, it’s the Alabama law that seems to have the Civil Rights Division head honcho lawyer’s (Maryland’s own Thomas Perez) undies in a wad in this clearly slanted report from something called Color Lines.  Here is the opening line (emphasis mine):

Alabama will not let the battle over its breathtakingly harsh anti-immigrant law, HB 56, be fought just in the courts.  [That tells you all you need to know about what follows and how the author wants you to think about it!—ed]

Nevertheless, there is some interesting information in this biased account.  Keep in mind as you read the following quotes from the story that in many locations, even right here in Maryland in nearby Frederick County, officials want to be able to identify illegal alien students (the numbers of such students) so that they will know what they might then charge the federal government for their education (since the US Supreme Court did say they must be educated).  Local jurisdictions have so far been barred from that information.

Here, Perez has demanded that various school districts turn over information that would lead to a list of illegal students!

What did MD GOP stalwarts O’Donnell and Kane hope to gain?

Before you proceed, remember that Perez was a Board member of CASA de Maryland and was endorsed for his now powerful position by two leading Maryland Republicans—House Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell and former head of the Maryland GOP, John Kane (husband of Mary), here.    I’ll continue to harp on this point until those two publicly explain why they undercut US Senator Jeff Sessions (R-ALABAMA) as he attempted to hold up Perez’s (the Progressives’ dream lawyer) nomination in 2009.

Back to Color Lines:

In a flurry of letters exchanged late last week the Department of Justice sought access to education records for Alabama as part of an inquiry looking into whether provisions of the law are violating the civil rights of Alabama’s residents. And twice Alabama refused the federal government’s request, arguing that the DOJ had “no legal authority to compel production” of its education records.

It all began last Wednesday, when Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez sent a letter to 39 Alabama superintendents in charge of districts with strong Latino enrollment asking for enrollment records. That request included a list of students designated as English Language Learners, and lists of students who had withdrawn from school or had unexcused absences since HB 56 had gone into effect.

Alabama’s attorney general told school districts not to cooperate with Perez:

In his first response, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange instructed Alabama education officials not to cooperate with the request during of the ongoing legal fights over the law, and then demanded that Perez cite his legal authority to request the state’s education records.

“Otherwise, I will assume you have none, and will proceed accordingly,” Strange wrote last week.

Lol!  Alabama state senator says that Holder is asking for the same information they want—how many illegal alien kids are in the school system!

Supporters of HB 56 have argued that the federal government’s post-HB 56 inquiry is consistent with their own intentions with the law.

“They are asking for the same student information we tried to get. They are proving our point,” said HB 56 sponsor and Rebublican State Sen. Scott Beason, the AP reported.

[….]

Portions of HB 56 have been enjoined, and most recently a federal appeals court granted an emergency stay to block the provision of HB 56 which demanded that the state track the immigration statuses of its students.

So, did you get that.  A court has said the state cannot track the immigration status of students, yet Perez thinks he is entitled to that information (albeit in a circuitous fashion) and some ‘cracker’ State Senator in Alabama is calling him out on it.

And, by the way, just a reminder that colleges in Maryland do not ask the immigration status of their students and are surely, every one of them! charging in-state tuition as I write this.   CASA de Maryland, Sandler, and with Perez surely cheering them on are only attempting to codify and make lawful in-state tuition for illegal aliens.   Once illegal alien students are permitted to be identified, the jig is up!

Go Alabama!  We are rooting for you!