General

Controversial Arizona immigration law takes effect Thursday

Federal judge nonetheless blocks police from questioning people’s immigration status

Arizona’s controversial immigration law takes effect Thursday, even though U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton recently blocked several of its most controversial aspects. The preliminary injunction, issued Wednesday, prevents police from questioning people’s immigration status if there is reason to believe they are in the country illegally. Bolton also blocked provisions of the law that would have made it a crime for immigrants to fail to apply for the proper documents and “for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work” while in the U.S.  A provision “authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person” if there is reason to believe that person might be subject to deportation was removed as well. The parts of the law that take effect on Thursday include a ban on “sanctuary cities”—cities with laws or policies that render them relatively safe for undocumented immigrants—and the criminalization of hiring day laborers who are in the country illegally. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said the state would file an expedited appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

CNN

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