Wednesday, a federal judge blocked key components of Arizona’s strict immigration law, just hours before the law was scheduled to take affect, by issuing a temporary injunction. According to BBC News, US District Judge Susan Bolton has 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, a provision that would make it a crime not to carry immigration papers, a section that would make it a crime for undocumented workers to seek a job, and another section which would allow police to arrest those whom they had probable cause to believe had committed a crime for which they could be deported without a warrant. Bolton also let parts of the controversial law stand, including provisions that make it illegal to transport and harbor illegal immigrants, a section that makes it illegal for drivers to pick up day laborers from the street, and a section that bars cities in Arizona from disregarding federal immigration laws. Bolton stated that parts of the law are unconstitutional because they pre-empt the federal government’s authority over immigration. According to NPR, Bolton also cited the unacceptably high burden these controversial sections of the Arizona law would place upon legal immigrants. Judge Bolton heard arguments from the US Department of Justice and the state of Arizona last week. The Arizona state legislature passed the law in April. According to the Associated Press, the Arizona government is preparing an appeal of the district judge’s ruling. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has called the ruling a “bump in the road”.
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