Arizona’s tough new immigration law is just hours away from taking effect, but a federal judge has remained silent so far on a request for an injunction that would block the law from being enforced.
The U.S. Justice Department had asked Federal Judge Susan Bolton to issue an injunction against the law, known as SB 1070, during a hearing last week. Attorneys representing Arizona and Gov. Jan Brewer asked that the entire case be dismissed.
Bolton did not indicate when she will issue her decision, but did say that she could rule on parts of the law instead of rejecting or affirming it in its entirety. A group of civil rights and immigrant advocacy organizations have also filed suits against the law.
Meanwhile, law enforcement officers across Arizona are preparing to enforce the measure as many immigrants have begun fleeing the state.
“Nothing really is going to change other than the fact that if we come across an illegal alien that doesn’t have a state charge now we can arrest them and book them into the jail or turn him over to ICE,” said Maricopa county sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Opponents of the law, which allows police to question and detain immigrants suspected of living in the country illegally, argue that the legislation will lead to racial profiling.
“We’re not engaged in [racial profiling] now in all types of crimes we enforce. So what’s the difference whether you enforce another crime, which is the illegal immigration? So we are very comfortable,” he said on “GMA.”
All immigrants, legal and illegal, would have to carry proof of their immigration status and could be arrested if they don’t have proper documents, should the law take effect.
It also would become illegal for people to employ illegal immigrants or to transport them anywhere in the state, even if they are family members.
Many immigrant families have begun fleeing the state afraid of the new law’s impact, and some activists are even encouraging immigrants to check tail lights on their cars, not to travel in large groups — and remove the Catholic rosaries from their rear-view mirrors.
Erika, a 23-year-old undocumented Mexican student living in Mesa, Arizona, since 1998, says her family is nervously watching the impact of SB 1070.
“I’ve been looking forward to being able to do what I studied for, what I worked so hard for and show this country that immigrants can also be good people,” she said. “We’re not here to take over.”
The Justice Department, which filed its lawsuit earlier this month, says Arizona’s law “crossed a constitutional line” and would disrupt the right and ability of the federal government to set and enforce national immigration laws. Government lawyers also claim the law is too broad and could result in racial profiling and discrimination.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a defendant in the case, says the law complements federal immigration laws — not overrides them.
“It is [the Obama administration] that is attempting to impose immigration policies and priorities that contravene and conflict with federal law and unambiguous congressional intent,” lawyers for Brewer wrote in court briefs.
The Arizona immigration law, which passed in late April, has attracted international attention and sparked protests around the country. It faces legal challenges in six lawsuits, in addition to the one filed by DOJ.
Sixty percent of Americans support the Arizona law, according to the most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll. But fewer — 46 percent — think the states should have power to make and enforce their own immigration laws, one criticism of the Arizona statute.
