Jay Bybee Inherent Authority Immigration Memo

Memo written by Jay Bybee of the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel in 2002, concluding that state police officers have “inherent power” to arrest undocumented immigrants for violating federal law. This memo superseded a contrary memo issued under the Clinton Administration in 1996. The drafters of the 2010 Arizona immigration law cited this memo (which was released publicly in 2005) as authority for the new law.