A federal judge ruled in Phoenix on Wednesday that several sections of Arizona's controversial immigration law cannot take effect on Thursday, at least until the courts have a chance to hear the full case.
Four parts of Senate Bill 1070's more than a dozen provisions will not go into effect Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton said in a preliminary injunction regarding the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice challenging the constitutionality of one of America's most draconian law for decades.
The overall law will still take effect Thursday anyway.
Notably, Bolton ruled in the injunction that clauses in the controversial law that requires law enforcement officials to check a person's immigration status while enforcing traffic stop and other laws, if they reasonably suspect the person is in the country illegally, would be prevented from implementing.
Governor Jan Brewer said when commenting on the ruling,"I look at it as a little bump in the road." She assumed that their next move would be appealing the injunction to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals so as to get a "fair hearing." She was giving a speech in Tucson Wednesday morning when news of the ruling broke, and has not consulted with her attorneys about the implications of the ruling.
Russell Pearce, Republican Arizona state Senator who authored SB 1070, agreed with Brewer, saying that attorneys for the state would file an emergency appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in hopes of getting a quick review of the decision."You know, the courts have ruled. I'm very confident that we'll win on appeal," he said on KNX Newsradio.
Pearce also downplayed the significance of the judge's order, noting that it was just a temporary injunction and that she allowed the portion of the bill that requires agencies to enforce federal immigration law to the fullest extent to remain in place.
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