U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked parts of Arizona’s controversial immigration law from taking effect, siding with the Obama administration, which filed the legal challenge.
The law took effect at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, July 29, but the judge’s ruling temporarily bars law enforcement from checking a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws or requring immigrants to prove that they are in the U.S. legally.
Arizona’s immigration law has been decried by civil rights groups and local governments across the nation, with many calling for a boycott of the state.
The Obama administration and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. contend that immigration policy should be solely under the federal government’s jurisdiction, not the states.
Judge Bolton apparently concurred with the administration’s opinion. “By enforcing this statute, Arizona would impose,” she told The New York Times, citing a previous Supreme Court case, a “ ‘distinct, unusual and extraordinary’ burden on legal resident aliens that only the federal government has the authority to impose.”
With the temporary injunction in place, the onus is now on the Obama administration and the Justice Department to put forth a cohesive, fair immigration policy that keeps our borders secure without trampling civil rights. –l. martin johnson pratt
