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<blockquote data-quote="Babagounj" data-source="post: 732306" data-attributes="member: 12952">2002 Bush-Era Memo Complicates Obama Challenge of AZ LawMemo from 2002 could complicate&nbsp; challenge of Arizona immigration lawBy Jerry MarkonWashington Post Staff WriterIn the legal battle over Arizona’s new immigration law, an ironic&nbsp; subtext has emerged: whether a Bush-era legal opinion complicates a&nbsp; potential Obama administration lawsuit against Arizona.The document, written in 2002 by the Justice&nbsp; Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, concluded that state police&nbsp; officers have “inherent power” to arrest undocumented immigrants for&nbsp; violating federal law. It was issued by Jay S. Bybee, who&nbsp; also helped write controversial memos from the same era that sanctioned&nbsp; harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects.The author of the Arizona law — which has drawn strong opposition&nbsp; from top Obama administration officials — has cited the authority&nbsp; granted in the 2002 memo as a basis for the legislation. The Obama&nbsp; administration has not withdrawn the memo, and some backers of the&nbsp; Arizona law said Monday that because it remains in place, a Justice&nbsp; Department lawsuit against Arizona would be awkward at best.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Babagounj, post: 732306, member: 12952"] [B]2002 Bush-Era Memo Complicates Obama Challenge of AZ Law[/B] [B]Memo from 2002 could complicate challenge of Arizona immigration law By Jerry Markon Washington Post Staff Writer[/B] In the legal battle over Arizona’s new immigration law, an ironic subtext has emerged: whether a Bush-era legal opinion complicates a potential Obama administration lawsuit against Arizona. [COLOR=maroon][B]The document, written in 2002 by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, concluded that state police officers have “inherent power” to arrest undocumented immigrants for violating federal law.[/B][/COLOR] It was issued by Jay S. Bybee, who also helped write controversial memos from the same era that sanctioned harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects. The author of the Arizona law — which has drawn strong opposition from top Obama administration officials — has cited the authority granted in the 2002 memo as a basis for the legislation. The Obama administration has not withdrawn the memo, and some backers of the Arizona law said Monday that because it remains in place, a Justice Department lawsuit against Arizona would be awkward at best. [/QUOTE]

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