Feds to challenge Arizona immigration law

[Igosplut]

Today I was carded at the gas station for smokes because "I appeared" under 30. So it's okay for some kid to require my ID because I appear a certain way but not okay for a police officer, in the process of a legal stop, to require someones ID?

I want to say in most states (MA for sure) that you are required by law to give your ID (or ID yourself) when asked by law enforcement. If you refuse, it's an arrestable offense....

[Seshmeister]

oh hai I'll just leave this here

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[Mushroom]

This administration is Pandering to their consituencies, and here's how I explain it... This Administration is suing Arizona for trying to do what the federal government can’t or won’t do in regards to illegal immigration. But it's inconsistent when you consider the Federal and State marijuana statutes. Federal law makes marijuana illegal. But CA, NV and others have state medical marijuana statutes. Other states decriminalized marijuana use, possession in small quantities.

So this administration is going to sue AZ over immigration laws but turn a blind eye to states ignoring federal law on marijuana? Sounds like Pandering to their consituencies, moreso than actually solving the issue.

[Nickdfresh]

This administration is Pandering to their consituencies, and here's how I explain it... This Administration is suing Arizona for trying to do what the federal government can’t or won’t do in regards to illegal immigration. But it's inconsistent when you consider the Federal and State marijuana statutes. Federal law makes marijuana illegal. But CA, NV and others have state medical marijuana statutes. Other states decriminalized marijuana use, possession in small quantities.

So this administration is going to sue AZ over immigration laws but turn a blind eye to states ignoring federal law on marijuana? Sounds like Pandering to their consituencies, moreso than actually solving the issue.

Since the inception of the U.S., it has been sole purview of the Federal gov't to enforce immigration law, not the locals. It was only under the Nixon Administration that enforcement of drug laws was largely federalized IIRC....

[thome]

I have a idea let's get 525,000 out of work Americans to line the important border crossing areas and equip them with baseball bats.

SWING AWAY BITCHES> Every Mexican that gets hit with the bat does not collect 200 $ and does not pass go.

But every Latino that can play ball gets a 5 mil$ contract to pitch for the Yankees.

[Hardrock69]

Pay a bounty for every illegal captured and shipped back. Say $1,000?

[Nickdfresh]

I have a idea let's get 525,000 out of work Americans to line the important border crossing areas and equip them with baseball bats.

SWING AWAY BITCHES> Every Mexican that gets hit with the bat does not collect 200 $ and does not pass go.

But every Latino that can play ball gets a 5 mil$ contract to pitch for the Yankees.

[vh rides again]

Neal Boorts said something like.

" It's not racial profiling. To catch illegal Mexicans you have to look for Mexicans"
something like that.

Sounds logical.

i know, racial profiling is perfectly honest and needed. if 3 black men rob a bank are the police supposed to pull over white men in cars to not be profiling?

its fucking rediculous, makes no sense.

[vh rides again]

Pay a bounty for every illegal captured and shipped back. Say $1,000?

a better way would be to put people who hire illegals in jail. no free medical care for illegals, and get rid of that rediculous law that says, if you were born here you are an american citizen. if your parents are not americans how the fuck can the baby be?.

[Mushroom]

Since the inception of the U.S., it has been sole purview of the Federal gov't to enforce immigration law, not the locals. It was only under the Nixon Administration that enforcement of drug laws was largely federalized IIRC....

what's the difference? federal law is the federal law. and what the hell is IIRC?

[chefcraig]

I have a idea let's get 525,000 out of work Americans to line the important border crossing areas and equip them with baseball bats.

OK, but just where are we going to get 525,000 baseball bats?

[PETE'S BROTHER]

OK, but just where are we going to get 525,000 baseball bats?

from 525,000 little leaguers

[jhale667]

Duh

what the hell is IIRC?

It's short for "If I Recall Correctly"...

[chefcraig]

from 525,000 little leaguers

Oh, heavens NO!

[chefcraig]

Judge blocks parts of Arizona immigration law

PHOENIX – A federal judge dealt a serious rebuke to Arizona's immigration law on Wednesday when she put most of the crackdown on hold just hours before it was to take effect.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton sets up a lengthy legal battle as Arizona fights to enact the nation's toughest-in-the-nation immigration law. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said the state likely appeal the ruling and seek to get the judge's order overturned.

But for now, opponents of the law have prevailed: The provisions that angered opponents will not take effect, including sections that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws.

The judge also delayed 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 — a move aimed at day laborers. In addition, the judge blocked officers from making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants.

"Requiring Arizona law enforcement officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of every person who is arrested burdens lawfully-present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked," Bolton, a Clinton appointee, said in her decision.

She said the controversial sections should be put on hold until the courts resolve the issues. Other provisions of the law, many of them procedural and slight revisions to existing Arizona immigration statute, will go into effect at 12: 01 a.m. Thursday.

The law was signed by Brewer in April and immediately revived the national debate on immigration, making it a hot-button issue in the midterm elections. The law has inspired similar action elsewhere, prompted a boycott against Arizona and led an unknown number of illegal immigrants to leave the state.

Lawyers for the state contend the law was a constitutionally sound attempt by Arizona to assist federal immigration agents and lessen border woes such as the heavy costs for educating, jailing and providing health care for illegal immigrants. Arizona is the busiest gateway into the country for illegal immigrants, and the state's border with Mexico is awash in drugs and smugglers that authorities badly want to stop.

"It's a temporary bump in the road, we will move forward, and I'm sure that after consultation with our counsel we will appeal," Brewer told The Associated Press. "The bottom line is we've known all along that it is the responsibility of the feds and they haven't done their job so we were going to help them do that."

The ruling came just as police were making last-minute preparations to begin enforcement of the law and protesters were planning large demonstrations against the measure. At least one group planned to block access to federal offices, daring officers to ask them about their immigration status.

In a sign of the international interest in the law, about 100 protesters in Mexico City who had gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy broke into cheers when speakers told them about the federal judge's ruling. The demonstrators had been monitoring the news on a laptop computer on the stage.

The crowd clapped and started chanting, "Migrants, hang on, the people are rising up!"

Gisela and Eduardo Diaz went to the Mexican consulate in Phoenix on Wednesday seeking advice because they were worried about what would happen to their 3-year-old granddaughter if they were pulled over by police and taken to a detention center.

"I knew the judge would say that part of the law was just not right," said Diaz, a 50-year-old from Mexico City who came to Arizona on a since-expired tourist visa in 1989. "It's the part we were worried about. This is a big relief for us."

Opponents argued the law would lead to racial profiling, conflict with federal immigration law and distract local police from fighting more serious crimes. The U.S. Justice Department, civil rights groups and a Phoenix police officer had asked the judge for an injunction to prevent the law from being enforced.

"There is a substantial likelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliens under the new (law)," Bolton ruled. She added that a requirement of the law that police determine the immigration status of all people arrested will prompt legal immigrants to be "swept up by this requirement."

Federal authorities who are trying to overturn the law have argued that letting the Arizona law stand would create a patchwork of immigration laws nationwide that would needlessly complicate the foreign relations of the United States. Federal lawyers said the law is disrupting U.S. relations with Mexico and other countries and would burden the agency that responds to immigration-status inquiries.

Bolton noted that the expected increase in immigration checks from Arizona will divert federal resources away from other priorities and said the government has shown that it's likely to succeed on its claim that key parts of the Arizona law would be trumped by federal statute.

"Even though Arizona's interests may be consistent with those of the federal government, it is not in the public interest for Arizona to enforce pre-empted laws," Bolton wrote.

Brewer's lawyers said Arizona shouldn't have to suffer from America's broken immigration system when it has 15,000 police officers who can arrest illegal immigrants.

Brewer is running for another term in November and has seen her political fortunes rise because of the law's popularity among conservatives. It's not yet clear how the ruling will affect her campaign, but her opponent was quick to pounce.

"Jan Brewer played politics with immigration, and she lost," said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat. "It is time to look beyond election year grandstanding and begin to repair the damage to Arizona's image and economy."

Republican Rep. John Kavanagh, one of the law's top supporters, said he was disappointed by the ruling and that he expects it to ultimately end up being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I don't think the judge's statements in the hearings justify this ruling," Kavanagh said. "I don't think the law justified her injunction."

AP SOURCE