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

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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”