Spokane7
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July 28, 2010 in Nation/World
Judge blocks parts of Arizona immigration law
Maria Uribe and other opponents of Arizona State Bill 1070 rejoice as they hear the news that U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton issued an injunction for the key portions of the bill Wednesday, July 28, 2010, outside the Arizona State Capitol building in Phoenix.
(Full-size photo)
PHOENIX — A federal judge dealt a serious rebuke to Arizona’s toughest-in-the-nation immigration law today when she put most of the crackdown on hold just hours before it was to take effect.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton shifts the immigration debate to the courts and sets up a lengthy legal battle that may not be decided until the Supreme Court weighs in. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said the state will likely appeal the ruling and seek to get the judge’s order overturned.
But for now, opponents of the law have prevailed: The provisions that most angered opponents will not take effect, including sections that required officers to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws.
The judge also delayed parts of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places — a move aimed at day laborers. In addition, the judge blocked officers from making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants.
“Requiring Arizona law enforcement officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of every person who is arrested burdens lawfully-present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked,” Bolton, a Clinton appointee, said in her decision.
She said the controversial sections should be put on hold until the courts resolve the issues. Other provisions of the law, many of them slight revisions to existing Arizona immigration statute, will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
The law was signed by Brewer in April and immediately revived the national debate on immigration, making it a hot-button issue in the midterm elections. The law has inspired similar action elsewhere, prompted a boycott against Arizona and led an unknown number of illegal immigrants to leave the state.
Lawyers for the state contend the law was a constitutionally sound attempt by Arizona to assist federal immigration agents and lessen border woes such as the heavy costs for educating, jailing and providing health care for illegal immigrants. Arizona is the busiest gateway into the country for illegal immigrants, and the state’s border with Mexico is awash in drugs and smugglers that authorities badly want to stop.
Brewer’s lawyers said Arizona shouldn’t have to suffer from America’s broken immigration system when it has 15,000 police officers who can arrest illegal immigrants.
“It’s a temporary bump in the road, we will move forward, and I’m sure that after consultation with our counsel we will appeal,” Brewer said. “The bottom line is we’ve known all along that it is the responsibility of the feds and they haven’t done their job so we were going to help them do that.”
The ruling came just as police were making last-minute preparations to begin enforcement of the law and protesters were planning large demonstrations against the measure. At least one group planned to block access to federal offices, daring officers to ask them about their immigration status.
In a sign of the international interest in the law, about 100 protesters in Mexico City who had gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy broke into cheers when speakers told them about the federal judge’s ruling. The demonstrators had been monitoring the news on a laptop computer on the stage.
The crowd clapped and started chanting, “Migrants, hang on, the people are rising up!”
Gisela and Eduardo Diaz went to the Mexican consulate in Phoenix on Wednesday seeking advice because they were worried about what would happen to their 3-year-old granddaughter if they were pulled over by police and taken to a detention center.
“I knew the judge would say that part of the law was just not right,” said Diaz, a 50-year-old from Mexico City who came to Arizona on a since-expired tourist visa in 1989. “It’s the part we were worried about. This is a big relief for us.”
Opponents argued the law would lead to racial profiling, conflict with federal immigration law and distract local police from fighting more serious crimes. The U.S. Justice Department, civil rights groups and a Phoenix police officer had asked the judge for an injunction to prevent the law from being enforced.
“There is a substantial likelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliens under the new (law),” Bolton ruled.
Federal authorities have argued that letting the Arizona law stand would create a patchwork of immigration laws nationwide that would needlessly complicate foreign relations. Federal lawyers said the law is disrupting U.S. relations with Mexico and other countries and would burden the agency that responds to immigration-status inquiries.
The core of the government’s case is that federal immigration law trumps state law — an issue known as “pre-emption” in legal circles.
The judge pointed out five portions of the law where she believed the federal government would likely succeed on its claims that U.S. law supersedes state law.
“Even though Arizona’s interests may be consistent with those of the federal government, it is not in the public interest for Arizona to enforce pre-empted laws,” Bolton wrote.
Supporters of the law took solace in the fact that the judge did keep several portions of the law intact, including a section that bars local governments from limiting enforcement of federal immigration laws. Those jurisdictions are commonly known as “sanctuary cities.”
“Striking down these sanctuary city policies have always been the No. 1 priority of SB1070,” said Sen. Russell Pearce, a Mesa Republican who sponsored the law.
Brewer is running for another term in November and has seen her political fortunes rise because of the law’s popularity among conservatives. It’s not yet clear how the ruling will affect her campaign, but her opponent was quick to pounce.
“Jan Brewer played politics with immigration, and she lost,” said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat. “It is time to look beyond election year grandstanding and begin to repair the damage to Arizona’s image and economy.”
Republican Rep. John Kavanagh, one of the law’s top supporters, said he was disappointed by the ruling and that he expects it to ultimately end up being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I don’t think the judge’s statements in the hearings justify this ruling,” Kavanagh said. “I don’t think the law justified her injunction.”
© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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MrDavis on July 28 at 10:30 a.m.
Polls are showing Obama’s support is slipping among Hispanics. When (and if) he no longer considers the illegal immigrant constituency as a viable block of support, you’ll be able to hear the Mexican border slam shut as far away as Canada.
IHike4Fun on July 28 at 10:48 a.m.
Since there is a pending court case on this that was probably the judge’s only option. The Fed Govt really has no credible case so the restriction will be lifted when the trial is over.
terrylynntatro on July 28 at 10:51 a.m.
The best part is that she only said an officer is not REQUIRED to ask immigration status. She did NOT say they couldn’t ask!
><(((*> on July 28 at 10:51 a.m.
“Polls are showing Obama’s support is slipping among Hispanics. When (and if) he no longer considers the illegal immigrant constituency as a viable block of support”
i guess maybe i just don’t know, but could you define ‘support’ in relation to Obama…
MrDavis on July 28 at 11:02 a.m.
“could you define ‘support’ in relation to Obama…”
Votes.
remymartin on July 28 at 11:09 a.m.
One more nail in the coffin of the liberals in November.
spokanada on July 28 at 11:18 a.m.
So a judge ruling that police officers shouldn’t be able to profile is a bad thing for the liberals??? Please explain.
And MrDavis, can you please cite the polls you referenced? The AP poll that I saw said 57% of hispanics still support the president.
Navydad on July 28 at 11:29 a.m.
Spokanada
From the AP:
Hispanics still overwhelmingly favor the Democratic Party over the GOP, and a majority still think Obama is doing a good job, according to an Associated Press-Univision poll of more than 1,500 Hispanics.
But the survey, also sponsored by The Nielsen Company and Stanford University, shows Obama gets only lukewarm ratings on issues important to Hispanics — and that could bode poorly for the president and his party.
For a group that supported Obama so heavily in 2008 and in his first year in office, only 43 percent of Hispanics surveyed said Obama is adequately addressing their needs, with the economy a major concern. Another 32 percent were uncertain, while 21 percent said he’d done a poor job.
Diana on July 28 at 11:30 a.m.
LOL, Remy. Bring it on. See you in November.
><(((*> on July 28 at 11:31 a.m.
votes from undocumented citizens?
how exactly do they go about doing that.
terrymr on July 28 at 11:34 a.m.
Legal immigrants would get horribly screwed under this law - carrying your green card everywhere is a nice idea in theory, but if lost it costs an arm and a leg and about 3 months wait to get a replacement.
mikeln on July 28 at 12:01 p.m.
Replublicans love the idea of cheap labor. These people, and they are people, do work most americans will not do for any amount of pay. They are exposed to nasty farm chemicals that probably shorten their, as well as their childrens lives and still do a better job then I ever could. This used to be their land untill they made the mistake of shareing it with european settlers. Too bad they had little knowlege of what happend to the natives, who lost out because of manifest destiny and permission from someones god. This is not as important an issue as it has been made out be, just more crap to keep us from dealing with the real problems this country faces, unemployment, wars fought for the benifit of the wealthy, infrustucture falling apart, greedy crimminals running our banks and so much more that is way more important. But, hey, why worry about those things when we can pick on people willing to work at hard, nasty work the rest of will not do.
Coffee on July 28 at 12:05 p.m.
votes from undocumented citizens?
how exactly do they go about doing that.
http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/en/voterinformation/Documents/WAVRFSept2009.pdf
It does not seem that it would be all that difficult to get registers to vote in Washington State even if you are not suppose to.
><(((*> on July 28 at 12:15 p.m.
Washington
§29A.44.205
Any person desiring to vote at any primary or election is required to provide identification to the election officer before signing the poll book.
I guess they could mail in a ballot (vote by proxy) and try it that way after registering.
Dazzeetrader11 on July 28 at 12:30 p.m.
If he hasn’t done enough to destablize America already, now come this. Obama, Holder and the Dems inlockstep are SO over!
Spokanada…that Hispanic poll defines a drop from 85% approval to 57% approval and the numbers continue to decline. Looks like Obama’s done something wrong…..I wonder what it might be.
Not since the 60’s has the government done such a direct action against State’s rights.
Dazzeetrader11 on July 28 at 12:31 p.m.
Something tells me this will be a looooong thread. Keep it cool everyone. Let’s work on getting more light than heat in this thread. It’s an important topic.
D
spokanada on July 28 at 12:31 p.m.
Daisy, do you really think those hispanics will vote for the GOP?
MrDavis on July 28 at 12:39 p.m.
votes from undocumented citizens?
how exactly do they go about doing that.
Voter registration fraud has been reported by the New York Times, 05/09/09, MSNBC 05/04/09, the Boston Herald 05/13/08, KMBC, 11/01/06, CNN, 10/10/08, 10/22/08, and the Cleveland Leader, 10/09/08. Allegations range form multiple registrations of the same person (72 times in one case), using fraudulent names, such as cartoon characters, sports celebrities (starting line up of the Dallas Cowboys) and outright fictitous persons (a man served 3 months in prison for creating 2,000 false registrations). “Thousands of irregularities” may have put Al Franken in the Senate, including votes cast by convicted felons, WSJ, 11/12/08. Voter fraud has been documented in New Hampshire, Ohio, Missouri, Nevada and Miinesota, to name a few. Oh, and Washington.
jerrysw on July 28 at 12:55 p.m.
I have to show my papers every time I enter a bar or go into a beer garden.
><(((*> on July 28 at 1:02 p.m.
MrDavis, i don’t see anything in that post regarding undocumented citizens.
There may be some voter fraud in that regard, however, it doesn’t seem the be the majority of voter fraud that is going on. Which seems to stem far beyond this issue and/or Obama.
><(((*> on July 28 at 1:05 p.m.
LOL @ Will.
spokanada on July 28 at 1:07 p.m.
@ Will Ski,
Everyone does. Imagine if the bouncers only checked the ID’s for the people that look like immigrants. That is the real argument.
Your argument is immature.
spokanecougar on July 28 at 1:20 p.m.
Love how people say this law should be legal and that a majority of Americans support this law as shown by the polls.
If we as a country did everything that the polls told us to do we would not have the civil rights bill, women would not be voting, blacks and women would not be serving in the military, blacks and whites would not be allowed to marry and we would still have slavery.
People (mostly conservatives) who are saying we need to support this racist law because America supports the law according to the polls is just stupid and wrong, the fact is this country is racist and bigoted until the law is forced on them and then after a few years they realize who stupid and racist they were being and see people who look different than them are not actually evil and should deserve the same rights as all white people.
><(((*> on July 28 at 1:26 p.m.
spokanada,
as Daisy said, lighten up.
spokanada on July 28 at 1:40 p.m.
I just get tired of hearing the same BS. It would be great if we could just focus on the article instead of spewing the same old garbage.
rshroll on July 28 at 1:47 p.m.
Immigration is a federal issue. We can’t have 50 different policies/laws regarding a truly national thing like immigration. Obama has been stuck with the worse situation of any president in modern day America. I guess it’s up to him to reform immigration as well.
><(((*> on July 28 at 1:49 p.m.
:o)
“It would be great if we could just focus on the article instead of spewing the same old garbage.”
Definitely.
I’m just hoping the above comment was for comic value and not a statement of some level of equality.
SpokaneLiberal on July 28 at 1:51 p.m.
Daisy - you are going to make a states rights argument on the issue?? This is a clearly enumerated reserve power of the Federal Government. Even the state isn’t asserting states rights, they say - the Fed government is failing in its responsibility so we had to act. It is the opposite of states rights. In a federal system you need both state and federal powers. This is a federal issue.
More than that Terry MR is right legal aliens having to carry things everywhere are the most screwed, but even a citizen who appears to be an immigrant could, under this law (the blocked portions) be detained without probable cause or a warrant - which is a clear violation of their rights(the rights of a citizen).
><(((*> on July 28 at 1:51 p.m.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Congressional power to regulate naturalization, in Article 1, Section 8, includes the power to regulate immigration (see, for example, Hampton v. Mow Sun Wong, 426 U.S. 88 [1976]).
mikeln on July 28 at 1:59 p.m.
Polls are the worst way to examine what americans really want. I’ts just waaaay to easy to get the results you want. Skewed results are just that, skewed results.
BigE on July 28 at 3:00 p.m.
Good Afternoon Peanut Gallery,
My inlaws were here for a visit, they live in Tucson AZ and have for the last 10 years. I asked the question, how do Arizona people feel about the law, what is the word at the water cooler or misting fan.
They responded, most support it, among their Hispanics friends, (they have many), the ones who have gone through the citizenship process are for it.
I have talked to people who taken the citizenship test and I can guarantee you most, of us Americans could not answer the questions.
If the only job is moving splinkler pipe, weeding or mowing lawns, sign BigE up, I have and would do it again to support my family.
mikeln on July 28 at 3:27 p.m.
I would believe BigE over any poll, at least he seems to know people who actually live in Arizona. Although , these people do a lot more then move sprinkler pipes. They work long hours, in horrible heat, exposed to chemicals most Americans could and would not tolorate. The next time you buy fresh veggies at a cost you can afford it is because these people do this labor at a wage that most people could not support a family on. We do,however, need to deal with this problem in a rational way. The way we are going about it now will solve nothing. I really see no good solution but I’m sure, if we tried, we could do it without the price of letuce becoming unafforable.
><(((*> on July 28 at 3:51 p.m.
Courts are not made to follow the voice of the majority. They are designed to follow the constitution. And the constitution states clearly that immigration is a federal matter.
to quote spokanecougar:
If we as a country did everything that the polls told us to do we would not have the civil rights bill, women would not be voting, blacks and women would not be serving in the military, blacks and whites would not be allowed to marry and we would still have slavery. ”
replace polls with “majority opinion”.
Diana on July 28 at 4:33 p.m.
Complete Victory for the Obama Administration and intelligent Americans!
Judge Susan Bolton accepted every major argument the administration made: That the power to regulate immigration lies exclusively with the federal government, and that the Arizona law will burden legal aliens and U.S. citizens.
Finally some common sense! Baggers-losers!
Now let’s work on REAL immigration reform, not a racist law disguised as one
SpokaneLiberal on July 28 at 6:26 p.m.
What the majority of Arizonans or Arizona Hispanics think is not really very relevant. What is relevant is the Constitution. It clearly says no!!
This is a reserved federal power
liarsinnews on July 28 at 7:07 p.m.
LOL, it something you don`t like is on TV, use the off button. If you don`t like polls nobody is forcing you to read them. If you are driving your car you`d better have a drivers license. If you want to take a trip to another country, you better have the proper credentials. Read the law regarding what you should be required to carry and live by it. Its that simple.
misjustice on July 28 at 7:08 p.m.
This is going to end up before the Roberts’ Supreme Court…two questions then, how quickly will it be granted Cert…and how will the pro-corporation majority vote?
My money is on SCOTUS to strike down the law. Not for any love of democracy, immigrants, or human decency but for the love of money and their corporate cronies that “need” illegal workers to help keep their profit margins high.
eagleproducer on July 29 at 9:47 a.m.
Misj: I’m not all that certain Obama is very concerned with slowing the flow of cheap labor either.
I’ve lived within walking distance of the Mexican border in Arizona recently and the place is literally swimming with federal officers. The amount of crime has been significantly reduced by the surge of Border Patrol, I.C.E., etc. Knowing how the GOP operates in Arizona, this law was intended to distract their population from the reality of the lack of governance and true leadership they provide to their constituents. It worked brilliantly.
No politician at the federal level has the sack to confront comprehensive immigration reform.
misjustice on July 29 at 11:07 a.m.
@Spoke, he (President Obama) is, after all, a centrist corporatist! Despite the hue and cry declaring that he is a Socialist, Maoist, Taoist, Communist, Marxist, Leninist…
Dazzeetrader11 on July 30 at 6:56 p.m.
And he’s anti American J…don’t forget that part.
Dem libs should dislike what he’s done….or NOT done. He’s done nothing except assualt Wall St, Medicine, Healthcare and the economy.
REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER…the replacement of this lil fraud peacock will begin.
misjustice on July 30 at 7:55 p.m.
He’s not anti-American, you ditz. Just because he isn’t a Republican’t and you don’t like him (which you have made abundantly obvious, repeatedly, ad nauseum) does not mean he’s anti-American.
He got the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed, the Stimulus Bill, Financial Reform, lessened the sentencing disparity for Crack Cocaine v. Powder Cocaine, the Health Insurance Reform Bill, reassessment of the Afghanistan War, negotiated a new nuclear treaty with Russia, stopped the hemorrhaging of job losses with the Auto Bailout/Loans Program, has begun to wind down W’s illegal war in Iraq, he got SCHIP expanded, lifted W’s ban on embryonic stem cell research, passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, and he signed into law the Education Reconciliation Act which increased Pell Grant awards to poor college students. So, yeah, he’s done a lot in addition to picking on the poor, poor, people on Wall Street.
He’s not as liberal as I’d like him to be, he’s a pragmatist and too centrist for my liking. But he’s a hell of an improvement over W and Sick Dick Cheney and is doing a far better job, given the hand he was dealt, than John McSame or the Quitter on Twitter would have or could have done!
Scoutster on July 31 at 12:49 p.m.
He’s anti-American? Oh, Daisy, you are so cute.
How does an majority elected president = anti-American?
Showed your true colors that time.
misjustice on August 01 at 12:53 p.m.
Actually, President Barack Hussein Obama’s election was historical; he received 349 electorial votes (to McSame’s 162) and garnered 53% of the popular vote. So, I guess (to follow DAZE’s “logic”) all those people that voted to elect him are also Anti-American! LMFAO! ; )
aeguy on August 03 at 8:59 p.m.
I for one am not going to “labor” for hours in a field for min. wage or less, unless you people that are so for this bill step up and replace the amount of lost workers, legal and illegal, you should sit quietly behind your desks and be thankful that these “aliens” are doing our “SH!T” jobs.