Arizona Immigration Law SB1070 has been blocked by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton.
Bolton, the federal judge, has ruled on blocking most controversial parts of Arizona's immigration law from taking effect. The move is seen as a last-minute victory to opponents of the Senate Bill. The overall bill, dubbed SB1070 will go into law and can be enforced on Thursday at 12:01AM local time to Arizona residents, but will do so without provisions that fueled the majority of anger by citizens. Those sections include the requirement of officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws.
The judge also put on hold parts of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places.
Note, this is an update to our earlier news story that we published this morning:
PHOENIX, July 28 (UPI) -- Arizona's law enforcement officials say they're prepared for intense scrutiny as the state's new immigration law is set to take effect.
The law is scheduled to take effect Thursday, barring any judicial action to block it, The Arizona Republic in Phoenix reported Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton could move to suspend enforcement of all or parts of the law, based on several constitutional challenges. Observers said police could modify their policies to conform with any action the judge may take.
Protesters who say they fear the law could lead to racial profiling are expected to descend on Arizona, intent on getting arrested for not carrying identification that proves their citizenship, the newspaper said. Supporters of the law, meanwhile, said they would monitor police activities to ensure the law is enforced to its fullest extent.Among other things, the new law states an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest will, when practicable, ask about a person's legal status if the officer reasonably suspects the person is in the United States illegally.Most police officers in the state have reviewed a training video the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board provided, and many agencies have supplemented that state-mandated training with their own policies, the Republic said. For example, some officers were instructed to try to verify the status of suspects detained at the scene, while others were instructed that anyone booked into jail would have their residency status checked, regardless of what kind of documentation they had."That statute is subject to interpretation," Flagstaff police Lt. Ken Koch said, adding that the city's officers were instructed to enforce the statute as written. "It's a very fluid and dynamic situation.""The biggest question that seems to be pretty common is: Where are we taking these people once they're in custody? Are we taking them to a federal facility? Are we taking them to a county jail?" Tucson police Officer Chuck Rydzak said.
