Judge hears arguments over Arizona immigration law

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Judge hears arguments over Arizona immigration law

By JACQUES BILLEAUD and PAUL DAVENPORT, Associated Press Writers Jacques

Billeaud And Davenport, Associated Press Writers – 43 mins ago

PHOENIX – The Arizona immigration law came under new legal scrutiny in a packed

courtroom Thursday as a federal judge considered whether the crackdown should

take effect next week amid a flurry of legal challenges.

Judge Bolton did not issue a ruling after two court hearings stemming from

lawsuits brought against the law, which has reignited the national immigration

debate.

The hearings drew considerable interest as Republican Gov. Jan Brewer and the

Justice Department's top lawyer in Arizona both attended, along with dozens of

spectators.

Seven opponents of the law were arrested after they sat in the middle of a busy

thoroughfare outside the courthouse and unfurled a massive banner that said " We

will not comply. "

Bolton has been asked to block the law from taking effect as she hears several

lawsuits that question the constitutionality of the measure.

Opponents say the law will lead to racial profiling and trample on the rights of

the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in Arizona. Supporters say the

law is a necessary response to combat the litany of problems brought on by

illegal immigration and the federal government's inability to secure the border.

Bolton, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, repeatedly questioned

Justice Department attorney Edwin Kneedler to explain how specific provisions of

the law intruded on federal authority as he had argued.

" Why can't Arizona be as inhospitable as they wish to people who have entered

the United States illegally? " she said.

Without prodding from attorneys, the judge also pointed out to lawyers the

everyday realities of Arizona's immigration woes, such as signs that the federal

government erected in a wilderness area south of Phoenix that warns visitors

about drug and immigrant traffickers passing through public lands.

She also noted the immigrant smuggling stash houses that are a fixture on the

news in Arizona. " You can barely go a day without a location being found in

Phoenix where there are numerous people being harbored, " Bolton said.

Kneedler said the law's requirements that law enforcement check on people's

immigration status set a mandatory policy that goes beyond what the federal

government requires and would burden the federal agency that responds to

immigration-status inquiries.

Attorney Bouma, who represents Brewer, said the federal government wants to

keep its authority while turning a blind eye to illegal immigrants.

" You can't catch them if you don't know about them. They don't want to know

about them, " he said.

Brewer said she's confident the state will prevail, adding that Bolton

" certainly understands the dangers that Arizonans face in regards to harboring

illegals. "

During the morning hearing, Bolton told lawyers for the American Civil Liberties

Union that she's required to consider blocking only parts of the law, not the

entire statute as they had requested.

ACLU attorney Jadwat said the law's provisions are supposed to work

together to achieve a goal of prodding illegal immigrants to leave the state. He

called it unconstitutional and dangerous.

Most of the controversy about the law centers on provisions related to stops and

arrests of people, new crimes related to illegal immigrants, and a requirement

that immigrants carry and produce their immigration papers.

Other parts of the law getting little attention deal with impoundment of

vehicles and sanctions against employment of illegal immigrants.

Bouma told Bolton that those challenging the law haven't demonstrated that

anyone would suffer actual harm if it takes effect, and that facts — not

conjecture — must be shown.

" In Arizona we have a tremendous Hispanic heritage. To think that everybody

that's Hispanic is going to be stopped and questioned ... defies reality, " Bouma

said. " All this hypothetical that we're going to go out and arrest everybody

that's Hispanic, look around. That's impossible. "

Defendants include various county officials from throughout the state, most of

whom sent lawyers to the hearing. Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever was there

in person, sitting at the front of the courtroom.

Dever's county is on the Arizona-Mexico border and he knew a rancher who was

killed in March on his sprawling border property by a suspected illegal

immigrant, possibly a scout for drug smugglers.

The killing of Krentz in many ways set the stage for the new Arizona law

to pass, with politicians calling for action amid border violence.

Before the hearings, opponents gathered in prayer and carried paper doves

attached to plants representing olive branches, a symbol of peace.

The law requires officers, while enforcing other laws, to check a person's

immigration status if there's a reasonable suspicion that the person is here

illegally. It also bans people from blocking traffic when they seek or offer

day-labor services on streets and prohibits illegal immigrants from soliciting

work in public places.

Since Brewer signed the measure into law in April, it has inspired rallies in

Arizona and elsewhere by advocates on both sides of the immigration debate. Some

opponents have advocated a tourism boycott of Arizona.

It also led an unknown number of illegal immigrants to leave Arizona for other

U.S. states or their home countries and prompted seven challenges by the Justice

Department, civil rights groups, two Arizona police officers, a Latino clergy

group and a researcher from Washington.