Labor & Employment Law

Judge Blocks Major Parts of Arizona?s Anti-Immigrant Law

By Mike Hall

Just hours before Arizona?s controversial anti-immigrant law was to go into effect, a federal judge today blocked one of its most contentious provisions?the requirement that police stop and question anyone they have ?reasonable suspicion? is undocumented.   

The law does not define ?reasonable suspicion,? a fact that many opponents say is a carte blanche for racial profiling.

Earlier this month, the federal government filed suit to bock Arizona from implementing the new law, which has drawn heavy criticism from civil rights organizations, immigrant groups, unions and the religious community.     

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton also blocked provisions of the law making it a crime to fail to apply for or carry alien registration papers or for ?an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work,? and a provision ?authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person? if there is reason to believe he or she might be subject to deportation.

Arizona is expected to appeal the temporary injunction ruling, however, and most observers believe the case is eventually going to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a statement the Justice Department said the court ?ruled correctly.?

While we understand the frustration of Arizonans with the broken immigration system, a patchwork of state and local policies would seriously disrupt federal immigration enforcement and would ultimately be counterproductive.

When the suit was filed, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said:

The solution to our broken immigration system must protect all workers and provide a fair path toward citizenship for undocumented workers already living and working in the United States. It must address the unique circumstances faced by undocumented students who were brought to the United States by their parents long ago. It must include an independent commission to determine our society?s genuine need for more workers that does not afford employers a steady stream of exploitable labor. And it must include a mechanism to ensure that employers are held accountable when they break the law.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on July 28, 2010 (boomark / email).