Judge blocks parts of Ariz. law

July 29, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

PHOENIX

A federal judge stepped into the fight over Arizona’s immigration law at the last minute Wednesday, blocking the heart of the measure and defusing a confrontation between police and thousands of activists that had been building for months.

Coming just hours before the law was to take effect, the ruling isn’t the end.

It sets up a lengthy legal battle that could end up before the Supreme Court — ensuring that a law that reignited the immigration debate, inspired similar measures nationwide, created fodder for political campaigns and raised tensions with Mexico will stay in the spotlight.

Protesters who gathered at the state Capitol and outside the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City cheered when they heard the news. The governor, the law’s authors and anti-illegal- immigration groups vowed to fight on.

“It’s a temporary bump in the road,” Gov. Jan Brewer said.

The key issue before U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in the case is as old as the nation itself: Does federal law trump state law? She indicated in her ruling that the federal government’s case has a good chance at succeeding.

The Clinton appointee said the controversial sections should be put on hold until the courts resolve the issues, including parts that required officers to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws.

In her temporary injunction, Judge Bolton delayed provisions that required immigrants to carry their papers and banned illegal immigrants from soliciting employment in public places — a move aimed at day laborers.

The judge also blocked officers from making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants for crimes that can lead to deportation.

“Requiring Arizona law-enforcement officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of every person who is arrested burdens lawfully present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked,” Judge Bolton wrote.

The ruling came just as police were making last-minute preparations to begin enforcement of the law, and protesters, many of whom said they would not bring identification, were planning large demonstrations against the measure.

Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said the state will appeal Judge Bolton’s ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco today, asking the appellate court to lift the injunction and allow the blocked provisions to take effect.