While certain sections of Arizona's SB 1070 anti-illegal immigration law have been blocked by a preliminary injunction in federal court, the battle over the controversial Arizona measure is far from over. Nor is the measure itself, as portions of it will still take effect today as scheduled.
So what takes effect and what doesn't? Wednesday morning's ruling in Phoenix by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton blocked the sections of the law that conflicted most with federal law. Among these were provisions that drew the most concern from opponents who feared racial profiling, such as one that would require local officers to attempt to determine the immigration status of individuals they stop or detain if there is "reasonable suspicion" the person is illegally in the country. The judge ruled on the basis of federal law pre-empting the state law.
Other sections of the Arizona law that were blocked include a provision that would make it a state crime to not apply for or carry alien registration papers; one that would make it a state crime for an unauthorized worker to seek or perform work; another authorizing an arrest without a warrant if it is believed that someone has committed a deportable offense.
However, many provisions of the law remain intact. Among them: The state can still prohibit law enforcement agencies and jurisdictions from enacting policies that limit enforcement of federal immigration laws, often referred to as "sanctuary" policies, and residents may still file lawsuits against state officials, agencies or jurisdictions for taking such a policy; the definition of a human smuggling crime will be expanded, a provision that could adversely affect those who live with or are related to undocumented immigrants; those who hire unauthorized workers will also face stiffer penalties, including anyone considered to be hindering traffic while stopping to pick up day laborers.
On Wednesday following the ruling, the Washington Post featured a Q&A with a former general counsel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, who parsed out some of the changes, and Fox News had a great point-by point breakdown of what stays and goes based on the ruling. Now it's on to what happens next.
The Arizona Republic reported that late Wednesday, Gov. Jan Brewer stated that Arizona would file an expedited appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court today, asking that the injunction be lifted.