Biometric ID and Immigration Reform

Judge Blocks Key Parts of Arizona Immigration Law

July 2, 2010

Reuters - A judge on Wednesday blocked key parts of Arizona's tough new immigration law just hours before it was to take effect, handing a victory to the Obama administration as it tries to take control over the issue.

The law had been due to go into effect on Thursday and, while drawing wide popular support, was opposed by President Barack Obama as well as immigration and human rights groups.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked several provisions including one that required a police officer to determine the immigration status of a person detained or arrested if the officer believes the person is not in the country legally.

The judge also put on hold provisions requiring immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and which made it illegal for workers without immigration papers to seek work in public places.

The Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature passed the law three months ago in an effort to drive nearly half-a-million illegal immigrants out of the border state and stem the flow of human and drug smugglers over the frontier.

It requires state and local police to investigate the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant and whom they stop for traffic or other violation.

Legal experts have said they expect the issue to go as high as the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The court also finds that the United States is likely to suffer irreparable harm if the court does not preliminarily enjoin enforcement of these Sections of (the law) and that the balance of equities tips in the United States' favor considering the public interest," Bolton wrote in a 36-page decision.

The Arizona law is the toughest anti-immigration measure in any U.S. state.

It is inspiring copycat efforts in at least 20 other states, although analysts say the prospect of costly and protracted litigation may stall some plans to push forward. There are an estimated 10.8 million illegal immigrants in the country.

Polls show the law is backed by a solid majority of Americans and by 65 percent of Arizona voters.

It is a sensitive political issue ahead of congressional elections in November in which Obama's Democrats are battling to retain control of Congress amid popular anger at a sputtering economic recovery and soaring deficits.

But Latinos and other opponents say the measure will lead to the harassment of Hispanic or Hispanic-looking Americans. Thousands are headed to Phoenix for protests, and street rallies were also planned for Thursday across the country from California to Washington, D.C.

Organizers had said they would take to the streets regardless of any last-minute stay by Bolton. Some Hispanic activists were planning to rally in Phoenix without carrying identification to challenge police implementation of the law.

"The call is for people .. to demonstrate without ID," said Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

Police across the desert state, which is the principal corridor for human and drug smugglers entering the United States from Mexico, have been getting ready to implement the law.

The state's 15,000 law enforcement officers have received training on implementation, negotiating the tricky issue of identifying people they suspect are unlawfully in the state, without resorting to racial profiling, Republican Governor Jan Brewer said.

Speaking on CNN's "John King USA" program late on Tuesday, Brewer said she felt "very comfortable that everybody is being well trained," and that any officers using racial criteria to implement the law would be punished.

"Racial discrimination is illegal. It's illegal in the United States, it's illegal in Arizona, it has been and it will continue to be," Brewer said.

State and local police, however, are divided over the law, and enforcement of it may vary depending on the agency involved.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known for his tough approach to illegal immigrants in the Phoenix area, had been preparing a crime and immigration sweep on Thursday as the law, known as SB 1070, comes into effect.

Arpaio recently inaugurated a new wing of his canvas tent-city jail, called "Section 1070," with 100 beds set aside for those arrested under the law.

"We're prepared for anything that may happen," Arpaio told Reuters on Wednesday. "If they violate the law they are going to jail. Nothing has changed."