US District Judge Susan Bolton has issued an injunction and blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona’s SB 1070.  The judge found that these key provisions would cause irreparable harm and has blocked them from taking effect until the legal issues are decided.  The following provisions in the law have been temporarily blocked from implementation:

• Requiring that an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained, or arrested if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is unlawfully present in the United States, and requiring verification of the immigration status of any person arrested prior to releasing that person
• Creating a crime for the failure to apply for or carry alien registration papers
• Creating a crime for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work
• Authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the United States

Until this ruling the narrative on immigration reform was dominated by the opposition.  Judge Bolton’s decision has changed that narrative.  The ruling sends strong messages— that Gov. Jan Brewer and her team have clearly overreached, that Arizona acted in an unconstitutional manner, that states cannot use the Arizona law as a blueprint because it is constitutionally flawed.

Laws similar SB 1070 laws will be vigorously challenged and will be struck down.  Attempts by some politicians to demagogue on this issue instead of finding real federal solutions to the broken immigration system will fail.  Now is the time for the Administration and Congress to lead on reforming the nation’s immigration system.  Local lawmakers agree.

State and local legislators adopted about 48 resolutions opposing SB 1070 and supporting immigration reform.

• There is a long list of failed efforts by states to copycat Arizona’s law. The list includes unsuccessful endeavors in Nevada, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Kansas.  Furthermore, several copycats are predicted to be unlikely to pass even by their authors and anti-immigrant groups in Michigan and North Carolina.
• At least fifteen Governors have voiced opposition to the law.
• Mayors and city leaders in San Francisco, Boulder, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Columbus issued travel bans.
• In Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Mexico, lawmakers are also advancing immigrant friendly legislation in the areas of community policing, wage enforcement and immigrant integration.
• Local law makers backed President Obama’s recent efforts to lead on immigration by issuing statements of support for his speech on immigration and the DOJ law suit announcement.
• And also today local lawmakers applaud Judge Bolton’s ruling. See their statements below.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, said, “I was opposed to what happened with the law in Arizona and thought it was both legally and morally wrong.” If there is a good light from this at all, it is the federal government’s responsibility to establish immigration policy for this country. It should have done this a long time ago.”

“Today’s decision is a step-in the right direction but the challenges at the core of SB 1070 remain,” said John DeStefano, Jr., Mayor of New Haven, Conn. “There is still an important road ahead to achieve realistic, effective and comprehensive immigration reform at the national level. Until we achieve comprehensive reform in this country, municipalities and states will continue finding themselves in a position where they take immigration matters into their own hands for better or for worse.”

“Although I am pleased with the ruling of Judge Susan Bolton to strike down the most offensive parts of Arizona’s racial-profiling immigration law, I am still deeply concerned over the remaining provisions of the law.  The parts of the law struck down today were designed to target and harass innocent American citizens and legal residents of hispanic heritage. Our country must work to secure it’s borders, but not at the expense of the civil liberties of nearly 50 million of its citizens and those from abroad who are legally working and living in the United States.” Adriano Espaillat, Assembly Member, New York State

“This  Arizona law is a prime example of why we need comprehensive federal immigration reform,” Michigan State Representative Rashida Tlaib said. “Without federal action, we’re left with short-sighted, irresponsible laws that encourage racial profiling and do little to address illegal immigration. Arizona’s new law completely misses the mark when it comes to real immigration reform, and no states should follow its lead. Moving forward, I hope our nation will work to fix our broken immigration system and restore our core American values of fairness and justice.”

With this ruling, Judge Bolton reiterates what we and countless others have said all along: that SB 1070 is unconstitutional and attempts to supersede federal immigration laws.  This ruling also sends a message to other jurisdictions considering similar measures. They will be challenged in court, and the costs will be borne by localities least able to afford diverting scarce resources during these trying economic times.  National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials

“Today’s ruling is a clear affirmation of the longtime judicial precedent that the power and responsibility to craft and enforce immigration law lies squarely in the hands of the federal government, not with states. It also underlines the reality that citizens and immigrants alike would have been unfairly burdened by the law’s draconian components, now prevented from taking effect tomorrow. But the problems with Arizona’s law were not solely legal — SB 1070 has already been economically disastrous for the state, and if fully enacted, would surely have proven to be a woefully ineffective approach to immigration enforcement.” State Legislators for Progressive Immigration Policy

Categories: Arizona

Tags: arizona law, governor jan brewer, jan brewer

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