Strange Rebuffs DOJ Again
In the latest of a growing collection of blunt letters between powerful lawyers sparring over Alabama’s
immigration law, state Attorney General Luther Strange on Friday again rebuffed the U.S. Department of
Justice over access to student information.
Earlier in the week, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division,
requested comprehensive enrollment and absence information directly from 39 districts with
relatively high Hispanic populations. But Strange wrote back, “Your letter does not state your legal
authority to demand the information or to compel its production. If you have such legal authority,
please provide it to me by noon on Friday.”
What Perez provided by that high noon was a letter that said, in part, “The Civil Rights Division of the
Justice Department is tasked with investigating potential violations of civil rights laws that protect
educational opportunities for schoolchildren … In this regard, [we have] recently received complaints
in Alabama….”
Perez’s letter also pointed out that the Alabama Attorney General does not represent the
administrators or districts the DOJ contacted.
But Perez’s arguments didn’t meet Strange’s bar: Strange’s reply reads, “Thank you for your letter of
today’s date, which I understand to confirm that your Office asserts no legal authority to compel
production of the information that you are seeking.”
Interim schools Superintendent Larry Craven, formerly the state school system’s general counsel, had
already told district-level superintendents not to comply with the DOJ request for information while
the DOJ and the AG’s office dispute the issue. Strange sent a letter to Craven Friday saying Perez had
not shown any authority to demand the “extensive information,” and that Strange hoped his letter
would help Craven give “guidance” to district-level superintendents.
Federal courts have put on hold the part of Alabama’s immigration law that requires schools to report
the number (not the names) of students who can’t provide proof of citizenship. That provision was in
effect for only about two weeks before being blocked by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Strange’s latest response to Perez also says, “My office is determined to see that our school children
are protected from unlawful activity. Toward that end, would you please share with me any
complaints that your division has recently received in Alabama? Perhaps that would help us to begin a
joint endeavor.”
Both sides in the letter-war are responsible for enforcing the applicable laws, and to do that, they
need information. But there’s overlap between the information required to do that and the
information that would help one side or the other in the ongoing court battle over the immigration law
itself, which Strange is defending from a DOJ challenge.
In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that immigration status cannot be used to deny a
child an education; students cannot legally be penalized for the immigration transgressions of their
parents.
Photo of Thomas Perez by Ryan Reilly, Courtesy of Flickr; Home-page photo of Luther Strange courtesy of the state Attorney Genreral’s website.
One woman’s fight to remove barriers for aspiring doctors with disabilities
After her dreams of becoming a doctor were denied, one California woman is working to make the profession more accessible to those with disabilities.
Trump touts ‘freedom zone’ plan for Gaza in Qatar as ceasefire talks stall
President Trump is visiting Qatar and the U.A.E. after inking big weapons and tech deals in Saudi Arabia. So far, his trip hasn't seemed to push forward chances for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Perimenopause symptoms can be a drag. Here’s when to seek treatment
From headaches and fatigue to hair loss and sleep troubles, the symptoms marking the transition to menopause can overlap with other conditions. Here's what to know and how to get help.
Trump to meet South African president amid deteriorating relations
The visit comes as relations between the U.S. and South Africa are at their lowest since the end of apartheid. Trump has repeatedly claimed that "terrible things are happening" in South Africa,
The all-female free divers of Jeju island have a ‘superpower’ in their genes
The all-female Korean Haenyeo divers show genetic adaptations to cold water diving involving their blood pressure and cold tolerance. "It's like a superpower," says one of the researchers.
Dozens are killed in overnight airstrikes on southern Gaza city, hospital says
It was the second night of heavy bombing, after airstrikes Wednesday on northern and southern Gaza killed dozens of people, including almost two dozen children.
