BREAKING: Judge Keeps Key Parts of Arizona Law from Going Into Effect

America's Voice Blog

Posted 07/28/10 at 01:26pm

Judge Susan Bolton of the U.S. District Court for Arizona has just issued an injunction preventing key sections of Arizona law SB 1070 from going into effect tomorrow -- including the sections criminalizing immigrants for failing to carry documents with them at all times and requiring police to ask anyone for papers during traffic stops or housing inspections if they had a "reasonable suspicion" the person was undocumented.

Judge Bolton, who was recommended for the bench by Republican Senator Jon Kyl, did not grant the federal government's request to put the entire bill on hold, so most of its provisions will still go into effect as scheduled tomorrow. But the most controversial four provisions have been enjoined:

The "show your papers" provision: "Portion of Section 2 [...] requiring that an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is unlawfully present in the United States, and requiring verification of the immigration status of any person arrested prior to releasing that person"
The section making it a state crime to leave the house without your papers: "Section 3: creating a crime for the failure to apply for or carry alien registration papers"
The section making it a state crime to look for work: "Portion of Section 5: creating a crime for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work"
The section giving police the power to determine who is deportable: "Section 6: authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the United States"

Technically, this isn't the end of the lawsuit. The injunction just puts a hold on these sections until a final ruling is made; it doesn't strike them down completely. But Judge Bolton could only issue the injunction if she thought that the federal government was "likely to succeed" in its case that SB 1070 undermined the federal government's authority to set immigration policy; in the case of these four provisions, the order said, she'll probably end up agreeing. Furthermore, the order said (emphasis added):

"the United States is likely to suffer irreparable harm if the Court does not preliminarily enjoin enforcement of these Sections of S.B. 1070 and that the balance of equities tips in the United States’ favor considering the public interest."

Legal eagles can read the order in full here, or this analysis by the American Immigration Council covering the various lawsuits filed against the law. While the fight in Arizona is not over, it's fair to say that this is a very good development.