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CNN — LOU DOBBS TONIGHT — Aired December 14, 2007 - 19:30 ET

LOU DOBBS, CNN HOST: Tonight, individual states, Oklahoma, Arizona and Virginia each taking action to deal with the crisis caused by illegal immigration. These states like many others forced to find solutions because of the federal government's refusal to solve this crisis.

In Oklahoma, a challenge to that state government's new law was dismissed by a federal judge. Bill Tucker has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lawsuit challenging Oklahoma's crackdown on illegal aliens was dismissed for a very simple reason. The plaintiffs are illegal aliens. In legal terms they lack standing. In his ruling Judge James Payne of the U.S. District Court for Oklahoma writes, "The court is convinced that the proper remedy for the injuries alleged by the remaining plaintiffs, all of whom were in violation of federal immigration is not judicial intervention, rather, simple compliance with federal immigration law."

In other words, the plaintiffs don't need the court to grant them relief. All they have to do is leave the country or go through the process of becoming legal. Judge Payne also was clearly troubled that the plaintiffs, because of their admitted unlawful status wanted to sue anonymously.

Quote, "These illegal alien plaintiffs seek nothing more than to use this court as a vehicle for their continued unlawful presence in this country." It's an observation that pleased supporters of the legislation.

KRIS KOBACH, IMMIGRATION REFORM LAW INSTITUTE: This judge correctly recognized that if a federal court gives that anonymity to these illegal alien plaintiffs then the federal court is stopping federal law enforcement officers from figuring out who these people are. And he said that is not the proper role of a federal judge to assist you in violating federal law.

TUCKER: Judge Payne admits in his ruling that if the plaintiffs had been illegal alien children, whose presence here is involuntary, he might have reached a different conclusion.

The National Coalition of Latino Clergy, who were the lead party in the suit say there will be an appeal and the fight is far from over.

REV. MIGUEL RIVERA, NATIONAL COALITION OF LATINO CLERGY: And yes, we're going to continue fighting this fight against HB 1804 in Oklahoma.

TUCKER: The ruling by Judge Payne in the Northern District Court of Oklahoma stands in sharp contrast to the ruling by a federal judge in the Hazelton, Pennsylvania, case.

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TUCKER (on camera): In the Hazleton case the judge pointedly allowed illegal aliens to sue the city. He, in fact, directed the court to protect their identity, even from the lawyers for Hazelton of knowing the identity of those illegal aliens who were suing him. That case is currently on appeal.

Kobach, who we just heard from in the piece, Lou, is of course the lead attorney in Hazelton's defense.

DOBBS: Well, that's an amazing statement by the federal judge, Judge Payne saying the problem here is that you're in this country illegally and you have two solutions that are both perfectly reasonable remedies, either leave the country or become citizens.

TUCKER: Well, exactly. He said I can't grant you any relief because at the end of the day, even if I rule in your favor, you're still in violation of federal immigration law and I can't fix that. Only you can.

DOBBS: Who — I have to say it, who would have guessed that there is a federal judge anywhere in this country that had that kind of intelligence and common sense and the courage to speak straightforwardly about a reasonable response to this issue?

TUCKER: It is a very interesting ruling and I am sure we're going — it's going to have much bigger impact than just this case.

DOBBS: Absolutely, thank you very much. Bill Tucker.

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CNN — LOU DOBBS TONIGHT — Aired December 21, 2007 - 19:00 ET

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN HOST: A local justice in New York upset that Governor Eliot Spitzer abandoned his outrageous plan to give driver's license to illegal aliens has taken outrageous action of his own. The justice not only dismissed charges against an illegal alien arrested for driving without a driver's license, the justice declared any New York law depriving illegal aliens of a driver's license is unconstitutional. Bill Tucker has our report.

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BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Never mind that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer abandoned his plan to grant drivers' licenses to illegal aliens, a village justice on Long Island, New York, has declared illegal aliens are being unjustly denied their right to drive. Westbury Justice Thomas Liotti has found that the laws denying illegal aliens a drivers' license unconstitutional, in the case of an illegal alien charged with driving without a license in his court.

JUDGE THOMAS LIOTTI, VILLAGE OF WESTBURY, NY: There's no question that this guy violated the law. My question is, is the law constitutional? I don't believe it is. I am very angry about the fact that I had to go to this length to try to find a remedy to this problem.

TUCKER: The illegal alien defendant before him had three prior convictions of driving without a license. And that, Justice Liotti says, goes to the heart of his frustration, unless illegal aliens are granted driver's licenses, they will continue to violate the law, and continue to come before his court, because they can't get a license. So, Liotti reasons, give them the licenses.

JOHN FLANAGAN, (R) NEW YORK STATE SENATE: It is judicial activism at its worst. It represents exactly why the legislature and the executive are supposed to make the laws, and we are supposed to debate this policy. The judges are supposed to interpret the law fairly and evenhandedly.

TUCKER: State Senator Flanagan said the judge should be removed if he's not capable of upholding the law. For a simple driving without a license case the case is lengthy, 26 pages. And at its conclusion the judge dismisses the driving without a license charge as unconstitutional.

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TUCKER (on camera): Now, Judge Liotti fully expects that his ruling will be appealed by the Village of Westbury to the New York State Court of Appeals. He's not making any bets on whether it will stand on appeal, but he is hoping that will revive the issue whether illegal aliens should be granted the privilege of driving in New York, Kitty, or any other state, for that matter, because he believes it is a right that they should be accorded.

PILGRIM: So he single-handedly wants to grandstand this issue by taking this.

TUCKER: Exactly.

PILGRIM: He admits that this person violated the law and it's in his job description to uphold the law, is it not? As a justice? How can he justify his action?

TUCKER: Well, because he says also part of his job is interpreting the law and what he has set down is done in a 26-page, an extensive review. Remember, this is a driving without a license charge. Not a complex legal case. And he has created a rather lengthy justification of why they should be given them and why they are protected and why these laws are unconstitutional. It will be very interesting to see what effect, if any, this has. It obviously has the intended affect, we're sitting here talking about it and that's what he wanted.

PILGRIM: Yeah, well he's also fairly tone deaf about what the American public wants, because when the issue came out, the overwhelming polls pointed that the American public did not approve of giving drivers' licenses to illegal aliens.

TUCKER: Right. And he's offended about that. He thinks the American people are wrong, they are being emotional about it, that they are reacting on a emotional basis for it and that he has created a clear rationed reason on this and the judge, I might point out, is rather passionate about this issue himself so ....

PILGRIM: Well, he not only doesn't uphold the law, he ignores the will of the American public. It seems not a defensible position. But we'll follow it closely. Bill Tucker.

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CNN — LOU DOBBS TONIGHT — Aired December 26, 2007 - 19:00 ET

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As part of our reporting on the crisis of illegal immigration throughout 2007, we've paid particular attention to one state, Arizona. Striving to fix its broken border with Mexico, looking very much like a model for the nation. An example that we first reported in September, the city of Scottsdale is taking action after a police officer was shot to death by an illegal alien. That community now requiring all criminal suspects to state upon arrest whether or not they're in the country legally.

In a moment, we will be speaking with the Arizona state representative Russell Pearce. He's a former sheriff's deputy and author of Arizona's ground breaking anti-immigration laws. But first, Casey Wian has the latest on the Arizona crackdown.

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CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In September, Phoenix police officer, Nick Erfle was gunned down while attempting to arrest Erik Martinez, a criminal illegal alien who had been deported to Mexico in 2006.

LT. BENNY PINA, PHOENIX POLICE DEPT: He has had several arrests in the past and he's a documented member of a local street gang.

WIAN: Police say after killing Erfle, Martinez took a motorist hostage, then he was shot and killed by other officers. Martinez's criminal history is a prime example of the gaps in U.S. immigration law enforcement. After serving prison time for theft, Martinez was deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but he was able to illegally re-enter the United States, which outraged local officials at the time.

MAYOR PHIL GORDON, PHOENIX: This individual that took our officer's life today is a perfect example, a poster child of the failed Washington policies in terms of securing our border.

WIAN: Martinez was again arrested by Scottsdale police for assault but they did not notify ICE and he was released on bail by a judge. He could have been sentenced to 20 years in prison if convicted of felony illegal reentry. Officials say it's an oversight that cost the life of a Phoenix police officer. Now the Scottsdale P.D. is tying to prevent it from happening again.

SGT. MARK CLARK, SCOTTSDALE POLICE DEPT: What happened was this tragic event last fall, it really — it caused us to look at, well No. 1, we happen to be the agency, the last agency to arrest this criminal. And he was ultimately released by the judge later. But it caused us to look at how do we deal with the illegal immigrants in our community that commit crimes?

WIAN: Now Scottsdale police ask every criminal suspect where they were born and if they are in the United States illegally. If officers suspect they are, they call an immigration and customs enforcement hot line so ICE can hold the suspect for prosecution or deportation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: ICE has increased the resources available to local law enforcement in Arizona. For example it has made detention and removal officers now available 24 hours a day. Kitty?

PILGRIM: Thanks very much, Casey Wian.

Well the results of Arizona's crackdown have been nothing short of remarkable. In the border patrol's Yuma sector, arrests of illegal immigrants have dropped from 119,000 last year to 38,000 in 2007. Not only does this trend continue downward, but authorities in Arizona report that border crime has dropped significantly as well.

Joining us now from Phoenix is Arizona state representative Russell Pearce. He's a former sheriff's deputy. He's also author of Arizona's groundbreaking anti-illegal immigration laws. And thank you for being with us, Mr. Pearce.

RUSSELL PEARCE (R), ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE: Thank you.

PILGRIM: You have a tough new law. It's going into effect in January. Do you believe it's already acting as a deterrent?

PEARCE: Well, if the pundits are to be believed, yes, it is. They say dozens are leaving every day. Hundreds are leaving monthly and that's its intent. Clearly illegal is illegal. They don't have a right to be here, they don't have a right to take jobs that belong to Americans. And then you can't ignore the economic impact. Arizona, $2 billion a year, $2 billion a year just in K-12 to educate illegal alien children.

Plus the crime, plus as you talked about. And this crime isn't just Officer Erfle. It's kind of like the Newark, New Jersey incident of the MS-13 gangs that execution style murdered those young college students.

This is a daily event throughout the United States. This is a daily event. In Arizona, you've got Officer Adkins, Officer Martin, Officer Erfle, Officer Glidewell. You've got Deputies Pierce, Deputy Archslinger (ph), you've got Officer Eagle down at the Park Range. You've got several agents.

This is just Arizona. I mean, it is outrageous that we would think this is just collateral damage for the cheap labor advocates as they continue to import and lure illegal aliens across the border with jobs. Enough is enough. Arizona is speaking out and we're not going to take it anymore.

PILGRIM: Let's take our viewers through some of the points of your law which is very, very tough on employers. If an employer knowingly employs an illegal alien on the first offense, the business temporarily loses their license and face probation for three years. If they're caught again, the license is permanently revoked.

Some are saying it's like a corporate death penalty if you are involved in hiring illegal aliens. You're basically cutting off the demand for the cheap labor force, correct?

PEARCE: Absolutely. We live in a free market. The market will adjust, but what you can't do is allow businesses to rely on staying open while breaking the law and yet ignore all the damage to Americans and the taxpayer. And enough is enough.

This law is fair. And it will be proven to be the fairest and most nondiscriminatory law in the nation. Tough, but fair. You have to knowingly hire an illegal alien. That's been the law since 1986. It's a felony under federal law, you can't knowingly hire an illegal alien.

And in Arizona though, and in the nation, you've always had to rely and perform what is the I-9 process, that's documentation of eligibility and so forth. But that's been an employer fraudulent ridden process because if you just have documents, and even though they're fraudulent, you know they are, you can kind of wink and nod and put them in the folder.

Now in Arizona, we're going to demand by law that you sign up for the e-verify program. It used to be the basic pilot. That program will tell you very clearly whether they're eligible to work here. The reason people don't like to sign up for it, they don't want to know if their workers are legal or not legal. Now they're going to have to. No more winking and nodding. And again, if you knowingly hire an illegal alien, first offense, up to 10 days suspension, three years probation. Subsequent violation, you lose your right to do business in the state of Arizona.

PILGRIM: I want to talk to the figures. It's 9-to-12 percent of the workforce in mostly low skilled jobs in Arizona is illegal. The law was challenged by business groups last week, it survived that challenge. A judge is going to hold a hearing on the constitutionality of this law in about two weeks saying that, you know, a state law can't override federal law. What do you think of these challenges?

PEARCE: Well, I love them because they're going to get put in their place. You know, clearly, states have inherent authority to enforce federal law, including immigration law. Had Congress not wanted the states to enforce these laws, they have what is called plenary powers. They could have invoked those and preempted the states from enforcing these laws. They didn't do that. In fact, Congress has made it clear it's always been the intents for the states.

When do not states have a constitutional responsibility for their citizens for the economic harm, the crime and damage and the cost to the taxpayers, the legal citizens? We have a constitutional responsibility. The citizens have a constitutional right and it's time for our politicians and our policy makers to quit hiding and put America first, put the American citizens first and enforce the law.

And that's what's going to happen. They will learn, this law is constitutional, it's fair and it's legal. And it is going to survive the challenge. I truly believe because again, it's written entirely with knowing that we were going to be sued. I was very careful to make sure this complied with previous court rulings and the constitution and congressional intent.

PILGRIM: We will keep the focus on it as it survives these challenges. Thank you very much for being on the program Russell Pearce.

PEARCE: And it will, thank you very much.