Immigration Law 101

President Bush is scheduled to speak to the nation Monday evening. Reportedly he will be discussing border security and other issues related to immigration from Mexico. Nearly everyone seems to have an opinion about what the president should do. Some want a fence to be extended accross the southern border similar to the 400 mile fence near San Diego. Others want the onus put on employers to ensure their employees are legal, and, if not, punished with fines or other sanctions.

At Stanford University the law school sponsors an Immigrants' Rights Clinic. Among their activities is to provide legal services, aid in obtaining welfare cash assistance, and a project to assist the ACLU in thwarting the activities of groups they describe as anti-immigrant vigilanties--apparently it doesn't occur to them or the ACLU that their actions constitute vigilante activity too. In short, the law school sponsors illegal activity.

Last week the Stanford Latino Law Students Association was called upon to provide very different services. A 33 year old woman from Mexico was struck and killed on campus. The students collected donations to pay for the return of Sandra De Anda's body to Mexico where her two small children live.

It will be interesting to see if the law students will hold the woman's employer accountable for employing an illegal. The deceased woman worked at the Stanford Law School cafe.