How is the the first time I'm hearing about this? From today's "Sidebar" column by Adam Liptak
The secretary of homeland security was granted the power in 2005 to void any federal law that might interfere with fence building on the border. For good measure, Congress forbade the courts to second-guess the secretary’s determinations. So long as Mr. Chertoff is willing to say it is necessary to void a given law, his word is final.
For students of American government, yet another frightening reminder of how far this administration will go to ensure that no institution, even the Constitution, can get in its way. I am not hopeful that SCOTUS will help out here, but this is plain and simple tyranny. Sigh.