Thu 12 May 2005
H.R. 418, REAL ID Act of 2005 (read a copy here or search thomas.loc.gov), contains a passage ammending Section 102(c) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1103 note) to read:
NO JUDICIAL REVIEW- Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), no court, administrative agency, or other entity shall have jurisdiction– (A) to hear any cause or claim arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph (1); or (B) to order compensatory, declaratory, injunctive, equitable, or any other relief for damage alleged to arise from any such action or decision.
Which sounds rather broad given that the section of law read:
(a) In General. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, shall take such actions as may be necessary to install additional physical barriers and roads (including the removal of obstacles to detection of illegal entrants) in the vicinity of the United States border to deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry into the United States.
...
(c) Waiver. The provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 [16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.] and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.] are waived to the extent the Attorney General determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section [amending this section].
It will be interesting to see what a court makes of that since it sounds to this layman’s ears like a broadside against the judiciary and limitations of Congressional and Executive power.
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