Judge stops Arizona on immigration law

 U.S. Marshal Dave Gonzales speaks with reporters Wednesday in Phoenix shortly after a federal judge blocked portions of Arizona’s new immigration law.
U.S. Marshal Dave Gonzales speaks with reporters Wednesday in Phoenix shortly after a federal judge blocked portions of Arizona’s new immigration law.

— A federal judge in Phoenix on Wednesday blocked key provisions of Arizona’s contentious immigration law from taking effect today as scheduled, granting in part an injunction requested by the Obama administration.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled that the injunction would apply to the portion of the state law that requires police to try to determine the immigration status of a person they arrest, stop or detain while enforcing other laws if they reasonably suspect the person is in the United States illegally.

In a lawsuit filed against Arizona, the Obama administration said the law was unconstitutional and warned that the provision would result in racial profiling and harassment of U.S. citizens, legal immigrants and foreign visitors.

Bolton, appointed by President Bill Clinton, said in her ruling that it was “not in the public interest” for Arizona to enforce a provision that pre-empts federal enforcement of immigration law.

The judge also barred enforcement of provisions making it a crime for illegal aliens to solicit or perform work, but she upheld parts of the law making it illegal for a person to stop a vehicle to pick up day laborers.

In her 36-page decision, Bolton ruled that the partial injunction should apply until the issues are resolved by the courts.

The ruling means that other portions of the law, known as SB 1070, are to take effect today at 12:01 a.m. Those provisions include procedural matters and minor revisions to existing Arizona statutes.

“We would have liked to have seen it all upheld, but a temporary injunction is not the end of it,” said Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the legislation in April. “I look at this as a little bump in the road.”

The governor said she was looking forward to getting started on the appeals process. “Jan Brewer is not a quitter,” she said.

Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said the state today will appeal the decision to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Brewer, a Republican, drew immediate objections from the Obama administration and civil-rights groups when she signed the law. President Barack Obama called the law “misguided,” and it promptly came under legal challenge.

The Justice Department welcomed the decision Wednesday, saying the court “ruled correctly when it prevented key provisions” of the law from taking effect.

“While we understand the frustration of Arizonans with the broken immigration system, a patchwork of state and local policies would seriously disrupt federal immigration enforcement and would ultimately be counterproductive,” Justice Department spokesman Hannah August said. “States can and do play a role in cooperating with the federal government in its enforcement of the immigration laws, but they must do so within our constitutional framework.”

She said the administration “takes its responsibility to secure our borders seriously and has dedicated unprecedented resources to that effort.” The government “will continue to work toward smarter and more effective enforcement of our laws while pressing for a comprehensive approach that provides true security and strengthens accountability and responsibility in our immigration system at the national level,” August said.

The Justice Department filed suit against Arizona on July 6, charging that the law unconstitutionally establishes a state immigration policy in a manner that interferes with federal law. The department asked for a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the law as scheduled beginning today.

In its motion for an injunction, the Justice Department argued that “the Constitution and federal law do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country.”

In an interview Tuesday on CNN, Brewer said that among her main priorities were “getting everybody to actually understand what the bill actually does” and ensuring that police are trained to enforce it properly.

“It’s not much different than what they’ve always did,” she said. “But there’sbeen such misunderstanding and mistruth in reference to Senate Bill 1070.”

Asked about concerns that the law would result in discrimination against Hispanics, Brewer said: “I’m sure that there will be claims of racial discrimination, unfortunately. But, you know, I really believe that our law enforcement officers are so well-trained, they understand what America’s all about. And that it’s illegal. And that it’s not going to happen.”

The Arizona law “absolutely mirrors federal law,” Brewer said. “And we are being invaded by illegal immigration in the state of Arizona. And this is another tool. And we are just helping the feds do their job because they won’t do it. The bottom line is that the people of Arizona are frustrated.” RULING PRAISED

Immigrant-rights groups were ebullient about Bolton’s ruling. “It means justice willtruly prevail,” said Lydia Guzman, president of Somos America, or We Are America.

About 100 protesters in Mexico City who had gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy broke into cheers when they learned of Bolton’s ruling. They had been monitoring the news on a laptop computer.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinoza called the ruling “a first step in the right direction” and said staffs at the five Mexican consulates in Arizona will work extra hours in coming weeks to educate migrants about the law.

Phoenix Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski, an opponent of the measure, told reporters outside the courthouse that the ruling was “a victory for individuals who say the federal law is the federal law.”

‘NOT A FULL VICTORY’

Advocacy groups that were planning various campaigns of civil disobedience to protest the law said they were pleased with the partial injunction. But they emphasized that the ruling is temporary and said the underlying issues that produced the legislation remain.

“It’s not a full victory,” Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said by telephone as he stood in front of the federal courthouse in Phoenix where some protestersand reporters had gathered. “The conditions that gave birth to [the law] are still on the table. This ruling does not address the hatred. Tensions will continue to rise, and some folks will be more angry now.”

Alvarado said his group and others would go forward with modified plans to protest the parts of the law that would take effect, especially the section that bars people from soliciting work or hiring if it impedes traffic, a provision he said targets day laborers.

He and others said they would also stage a protest later Wednesday at the Phoenix office of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has taken an aggressive approach to combating illegal immigration. Arpaio has vowed to go forward with his 17th crime and immigration sweep across the county, which includes Phoenix, in the sort of action that some of the law’s supporters had hoped would become the norm in Arizona.

Meanwhile, many police chiefs and sheriffs around the state remained confused about various parts of the law. Some voiced serious reservations about a law that essentially turns police into immigration officials.

“I guess everyone is on needles and pins right now; that’s the best way to express it,” said Sheriff Antonio Estrada in Santa Cruz County, on the Mexican border. “If this thing goes through, we’ve got a nightmare on our hands,” he said before Bolton’s ruling.

Information for this article was contributed by Stephanie Mc-Crummen, William Branigin of The Washington Post, by Nicholas Riccardi and Anna Gorman of the Los Angeles Times; by Jacques Billeaud, Amanda Lee Myers, Bob Christie, Paul Davenport, Felicia Fonseca and Olga R. Rodriguez of The Associated Press and by William McQuillen, Emily Heller, Dawn McCarty, Charlie Devereux and Margaret Brennan of Bloomberg News.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 07/29/2010

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