By Steve Neavling

President Obama’s immigration plans have been placed on hold by a federal judge in Texas so that states have time to argue their case against the president’s controversial executive action.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen blocked the plan with a preliminary injunction, ABC News reports.

The judge said the injunction was necessary so states could proceed with a lawsuit without suffering “irreparable harm.”

The White House issued a statement, saying the president made a lawful action that presidents have been making for decades.

“The Supreme Court and Congress have made clear that the federal government can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws—which is exactly what the President did when he announced commonsense policies to help fix our broken immigration system. Those policies are consistent with the laws passed by Congress and decisions of the Supreme Court, as well as five decades of precedent by presidents of both parties who have used their authority to set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws,” the statement reads.

“The Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts, and the district court inWashington, D.C. have determined that the President’s actions are well within his legal authority. Top law enforcement officials, along with state and local leaders across the country, have emphasized that these policies will also benefit the economy and help keep communities safe. The district court’s decision wrongly prevents these lawful, commonsense policies from taking effect and the Department of Justice has indicated that it will appeal that decision.”

By Steve Neavling

It was a brutal lynching even by Georgia’s standards.

On July 25, 1946, a white mob tied up a black couple in their 20s and shot them 60 times.

The notorious incident became known as the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching.

No one has been prosecuted in the case.

But The Guardian reports that the FBI is investigating claims by civil rights activists that the people responsible for the notorious lynching are still alive.

The FBI is questioning people who civil rights activists say are connected to the killing.

One of the people investigated by the FBI was Charlie Peppers, an 86-year-old man who lives about 10 miles west of the lynching site.

“Back when all that happened, I didn’t even know where Moore’s Ford was,” Peppers said, adding that “the blacks are blaming people that didn’t even know what happened back then.”

Via Border Patrol

Border Patrol agents in Arizona have been advised they are under no obligation to arrest drunken drivers and will face no consequences for letting the suspects go, CBS5 reports.

A training memo that has been circulating among agents reminded them that they have no legal authority to arrest someone for breaking an Arizona law because they are not certified peace officers.

“The question is how much authority does Border Patrol have to enforce state laws against U.S. citizens,” former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Alex Lane said. “Do we want Border Patrol checkpoints to also be DUI checkpoints?”

A union representing agents said drunken drivers will not be let go.

“I can assure you that the agents I represent and the people I work with just would not release someone who was severely intoxicated,” said Art Del Cueto, president of Local 2544.

Customs and Border Patrol released this statement to CBS5:

The recent informational slide, which was inappropriately released outside of CBP, was intended as an internal messaging slide to provide training to Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents about their legal options when encountering drivers who appear to be impaired.  In cases where Border Patrol agents encounter possibly impaired drivers, they are trained to exercise their professional judgment when assessing the current situation. Information on the slide does not direct agents to detain or not detain these drivers, but instead provides them information, based on judicial precedent, to use their discretion when encountering possibly impaired drivers.  The Border Patrol often releases internal messaging on a wide range of topics to inform agents so that they may better perform their duties within the scope of the law. 

James Comey

During a widely lauded speech at Georgetown University last week, FBI Director James B. Comey proved that he’s no J. Edgar Hoover. Instead of glossing over unpleasant truths about the relationship between minority communities and the police, Mr. Comey seized on the opportunity to acknowledge the reality of racial bias in law enforcement. He also called for a deeper understanding by the public of the difficulty of urban policing.

In a balanced speech, Mr. Comey noted that the African-American community’s concerns about racially biased policing has merit, especially in the wake of high-profile killings of unarmed black men by law enforcement in recent years.

Mr. Comey called for an honest discussion about the perception of black men that many officers carry with them as a result of the arrests they’ve made in high-crime communities. A disproportionate number of African-Americans go through the criminal justice system, a fact that can contribute to suspicions about blacks in every police encounter.

But just as many police officers suffer from a myopia about African- Americans, Mr. Comey said the same can be true of residents. Communities of color should strive to understand what goes through an officer’s mind in policing and protecting a neighborhood. Most officers, who put their own safety on the line, want to help law-abiding citizens and not be written off as racist or hostile.

To read more click here.

secret service photo

One reason the Secret Service is making so many embarrassing blunders may have something to do with the lack of training.

The Fiscal Times reports that the Secret Service’s uniformed officers trained for an average of just 25 minutes in fiscal 2013, a significant decline over previous years

The Secret Service typically sent special agents to eight training classes a year. Now agents are lucky to take a class, the an independent panel investigating the agency told Congress last week.

The panelists suggested that the Secret Service hire 200 new uniformed officers and 85 special agents, which would mark a 4.5% increase in the overall workforce.

“No organization is perfect,” said Mark Filip, one of the panelists. “It’s not a weakness to acknowledge there are problems. Accept them and move forward.”

Other Stories of Interest

• Florida Became ‘Hotbed’ for FBI-Dubbed Domestic Terrorists
• ATF May Ban .223 Ammunition by Reclassification
• FBI Investigates Vandalism of Muslim School in Rhode Island
• Washington Post: GOP Holding Homeland Security Hostage
• FBI Investigates Arson at Noble Horse Theater in Chicago