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Is there a theory of law that the government agency must focus on the task its been assign and not enforce laws outside its realm

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Is there a theory of law that the government agency must focus on the task its been assign and not enforce laws outside its realm?

To give you some examples.

There are some states which give illegal aliens driver licences(I'm not condoning this or any illegal behavior) however when challenged on this, it came down to something like " Well the DMV job is to see if you can drive not to investigate if you are illegally"

I think there was also a situation in where illegal aliens wanted public school education even when they are not authorized to even be in the country and just being here is a crime. I think the outcome was something like " Oh the school board job is to educate the people in the community not determine of those people are here illegally",etc...

I believe Hospital ER rooms can't deny a person services because there are here illegal? There are a lot of tax payer funded good and services being provided to people who are not even suppose to be in this country and are violating law by being here but my question is focus on if a government agency can use a violation of one law or wrong doing to deny services?

To give you a another example, I believe in my college there was a student who had this diploma withheld because he(or a relative) had a bunch of unpaid parking tickets on campus. He paid his tuition, pass all the required classes but some parking ticket issue was causing them to withhold what he earned.

Does this theory have a name in which one agency attempts to deny services based on some wrong doing outside that agency's jurisdiction?

For example, could a government agency withhold a public records request because you have an unpaid parking ticket or property tax,etc..?

Is there a theory of law that you can say they like exceeded their authority or that one thing have nothing to do with the other? Or are these kind of things only allowed for cases involving illegal aliens?

Thanks.
 


Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
A government agency may only do those things that the Congress or state legislature has authorized it to do. State legislatures set the requirements for driver's licenses. If the state legislature's law on driver's licenses allows undocumented aliens to get driver's licenses then the DMV will have to give the licenses if they otherwise meet the requirements for one. It's the same thing for public education. The elected school board of the school district or the state legislature will set the rules for who may attend the public schools. If the law or rule allows for undocumented aliens to attend the school then the school must admit them if they otherwise qualify.

Federal and state laws require that hospital ERs treat anyone who is in need of life saving care, whether citizen or not. Undocumented aliens cannot be refused care because those laws say everyone in that situation gets treated. That position has wide support; few Americans would say that someone in a truly life threatening situation should be denied admission to an ER based on citizenship or ability to pay.

Universities often have the requirement to graduate that all your university fees and charges have to paid before the university will give you a diploma. University parking tickets are university fees, and the university certainly may require that the student pay those off before they get their diploma. It's not any different than a fast food place refusing to give you the food you ordered until you pay the price of the food.

There are states with laws that prohibit a licensing agency from giving out licenses when the applicant has other outstanding obligations that need to be resolved. For example, some states prohibit the issuance or renewal of a driver's license if the driver has unpaid state taxes or has an unpaid judgment for injuries he/she caused to someone else in an auto accident. Some states prohibit issuing or renewing professional licenses (doctor, attorney, etc) when the professional has unpaid child support arrears. But again these actions are all done pursuant to the applicable state statutes. The agencies cannot simply decide on their own to do that.

By the way, an alien who is not authorized to be in the U.S. does not commit a crime simply by being in the U.S. The alien can be deported, of course, if he or she is not allowed to be here. But by itself being present in the U.S. is not a crime, even though the term people often use, illegal alien, would imply that it is crime. It can be a crime to enter the U.S. without authorization, so aliens who sneak across the border do commit a federal offense. Not all aliens sneak in, however. A number of aliens enter legally but then just overstay their visas. That is not a crime.
 
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