United States: Federal Judge Enjoins Key Provisions of Arizona Immigration Law
Arizona
A federal judge has blocked the State of Arizona from implementing the most controversial provisions of its new immigration law, including a provision that would have required police officers to check the immigration status of individuals suspected of being undocumented and a provision that would have made it a state crime to fail to carry immigration documents. Other portions of the law will take effect as scheduled on July 29.
Federal District Judge Susan R. Bolton has issued a preliminary injunction that prohibits the State of Arizona from implementing several key portions of S.B. 1070, its new and controversial immigration law. The judge determined that the U.S. government is likely to succeed in its argument that certain provisions of the state statute are preempted by federal immigration law.
Judge Bolton’s order blocks Arizona from requiring law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of persons reasonably suspected of being undocumented, and from making it a crime to fail to carry immigration documents. The judge also blocked a provision that would have made it a crime for a foreign national to seek or perform work without employment authorization and a portion of the law that would have allowed police officers to arrest an individual without a warrant if there was probable cause to believe that person had committed an offense rendering him or her removable from the United States.
Judge Bolton did not enjoin the entire law, however, and several of its provisions will now take effect as scheduled on July 29. These include portions that strengthen existing state laws against the knowing or intentional employment of unauthorized foreign nationals, as well as a provision limiting the solicitation of day labor. Other portions of the law will be implemented as well, including a provision that prohibits state agencies and officials from limiting the enforcement of federal immigration law and provisions that criminalize the act of harboring an undocumented foreign national during the commission of a crime or inducing an undocumented individual to come to or live in Arizona.
In the wake of today’s ruling, court challenges to the state statute will now go forward, though Arizona could appeal the preliminary injunction. Fragomen is closely monitoring the lawsuits against S.B. 1070 and will issue further Client Alerts as developments occur.
Source: Fragomen