Can A City Refuse Land-Use Permits Because it Doesn’t Like the Federal Policies the Property Will be Used to Implement?

VIKRAM DAVID AMAR

Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar explains why a local government cannot constitutionally create policy discriminating against entities that do business with the feds. Specifically, Amar discusses a situation in which the city of Farland, California, is trying to prevent a privately operated state prison facility located in that city from contracting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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United States v. Moreno Pena

Docket: 17-4778

Opinion Date: March 11, 2020

Judge: Quattlebaum

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

Defendant appealed his 24-month sentence for illegally reentering the United States subsequent to conviction for an aggravated felony, in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1326(a) and (b)(2). The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's finding that defendant's prior conviction for Texas burglary is a burglary offense under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(G), and was therefore an aggravated felony under the Immigration and Nationality Act. However, the court held that the district court committed a procedural error in applying the 2016 Guidelines Manual at sentencing and the error was not harmless. Accordingly, the court affirmed in part, vacated and remanded for resentencing.