Yesterday Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) announced that she will file a request that the US Supreme Court overturn the April ruling of the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which upheld US District Judge Susan Bolton’s ruling to block portions of Arizona’s immigration law. The three judge panel ruled that Judge Bolton “did not abuse” her power in her decision to block portions of the law.
Governor Brewer stated that the federal government failed to effectively enforce immigration law and that the Arizona immigration law would assist federal authorities in doing so. However, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals clarified that the Supreme Court will likely find the Arizona immigration law unconstitutional since it challenges the Congressional right of the federal government to be the sole authority over immigration.
In July, Judge Bolton ruled against multiple sections of the Arizona law, including a requirement that police check the immigration status of criminal suspects that they had stopped while enforcing other laws and a provision that would make it a crime not to carry immigration papers. She also ruled against a section that would make it a crime for undocumented workers to seek a job.
