Opponents of Arizona's immigration crackdown went ahead with protests Thursday despite a judge's ruling that delayed enforcement of most the law, and dozens of people in Phoenix were arrested after peacefully confronting officers in riot gear.
Gov. Jan Brewer called U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton's Wednesday's decision halting the law "a bump in the road," and her spokesman said they'd appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco later Thursday.
Outside the state Capitol, hundreds of protesters began marching at dawn, gathering in front of the federal courthouse where Bolton issued her ruling on Wednesday. They marched on to the office of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has made a crackdown on illegal immigration one of his signature issues.
At least eight protesters approached a police line and allowed themselves to be arrested. A group of about two dozen protesters then sat down in the middle of the street or refused to leave, and police arrested them as well.
Earlier, three people were detained at the courthouse after apparently entering a closed-off area. Former state Sen. Alfredo Gutierrez, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002, was among them.
Marchers chanted "Sheriff Joe, we are here, we will not live in fear," and among the crowd was a drummer wearing a papier-mache Sheriff Joe head and dressed in prison garb.
Arpaio vowed to go ahead with a crime sweep targeting illegal immigrants. It was Phoenix police who made most the early arrests, but other protests were planned later in front of a county jail.
"My deputies will arrest them and put them in pink underwear," Arpaio said, referring to one of his odd methods of punishment for prisoners. "Count on it."
Arizona is the nation's epicenter of illegal immigration, with more than 400,000 undocumented residents. The state's border with Mexico is awash with smugglers and drugs that funnel narcotics and immigrants throughout the U.S., and supporters of the new law say the influx of illegal migrants drains vast sums of money from hospitals, education and other services.
The ruling was anxiously awaited in the U.S. and beyond. About 100 protesters in Mexico City who had gathered at the U.S. Embassy broke into applause when they learned of the ruling via a laptop computer. Mariana Rivera, a 36-year-old from Zacatecas, Mexico, who is living in Phoenix on a work permit, said she heard about the ruling on a Spanish-language news program.
"I was waiting to hear because we're all very worried about everything that's happening," said Rivera, who phoned friends and family with the news. "Even those with papers, we don't go out at night at certain times there's so much fear (of police). You can't just sit back and relax."
In New York City, about 300 immigrant advocates gathered Thursday near the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan.
New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams, a first-generation Caribbean-American, told the crowd: "We won a slight battle in Arizona, we've got to continue with the war."
In Los Angeles, about 200 protesters invaded a busy intersection west of downtown Los Angeles.
Police shut down the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Highland Avenue and diverted traffic away after demonstrators moved into the street and sat down at about 10 a.m. Thursday.
The protesters chanted, "These are our streets" during the raucous demonstration. Police say there have been no arrests.
Bolton indicated the government has a good chance at succeeding in its argument that federal immigration law trumps state law. But the key sponsor of Arizona's law, Republican Rep. Russell Pearce, said the judge was wrong and predicted the state would ultimately win the case.
In her temporary injunction, Bolton delayed the most contentious provisions of the law, including a section that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws. She also barred enforcement of parts requiring immigrants to carry their papers and banned illegal immigrants from soliciting employment in public places — a move aimed at day laborers that congregate in large numbers in parking lots across Arizona. The judge also 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," said Bolton, a Clinton administration appointee who was assigned the seven lawsuits filed against Arizona over the law.
Other provisions that were less contentious were allowed to take effect Thursday, including a section that bars cities in Arizona from disregarding federal immigration laws.
Kris Kobach, the University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor who helped write the law and train Arizona police officers in immigration law, conceded the ruling weakens the force of Arizona's efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants. He said it will likely be a year before a federal appeals court decides the case.
"It's a temporary setback," Kobach said. "The bottom line is that every lawyer in Judge Bolton's court knows this is just the first pitch in a very long baseball game."
Opponents of the law said the ruling sends a strong message to other states hoping to replicate the law. Lawmakers or candidates in as many as 18 states say they want to push similar measures when their legislative sessions start up again in 2011.
"Surely it's going to make states pause and consider how they're drafting legislation and how it fits in a constitutional framework," Dennis Burke, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, told The Associated Press. "The proponents of this went into court saying there was no question that this was constitutional, and now you have a federal judge who's said, 'Hold on, there's major issues with this bill.'"
But a lawmaker in Utah said the state will likely take up a similar laws anyway.
"The ruling ... should not be a reason for Utah to not move forward," said Utah state Rep. Carl Wimmer, a Republican from Herriman City, who said he plans to co-sponsor a bill similar to Arizona's next year and wasn't surprised it was blocked. "For too long the states have cowered in the corner because of one ruling by one federal judge."
pistolpackin posted at 10:15 am on Thu, Jul 29, 2010.
get em joe
AZMomma posted at 11:44 am on Thu, Jul 29, 2010.
They have time to march and protest so it does raise the question of how they support their families, pay bills etc.
As for the Mexican chick working in Phoenix on a legal visa - she might find herself pounding the pavement once her identity is reported to her employer.
Wonder how many patriotic employers will tolerate such a blatant 'flip off' anymore. I bet she IS replaceable with a US citizen.[smile]
Hellraiser posted at 12:22 pm on Thu, Jul 29, 2010.
Arrest them if they are breaking the law and don't let them out tonight!
mkrobins posted at 1:22 pm on Thu, Jul 29, 2010.
"Even those with papers, we don't go out at night at certain times there's so much fear (of police). You can't just sit back and relax."
My response to this rediculous comment is IF you have your papers/are a citizen/ are here legally you have nothing to worry about....people are trying to make this into a personal attack.....this law isn't here to "scare" anyone, they are simply doing the job they should have done years ago....protecting those here legally. My family came here legally, worked hard to get where we are...... it's called the American dream.... feel free to experience it...legally.
forkedlift1 posted at 2:08 pm on Thu, Jul 29, 2010.
Ah, the politics of hate, AZMomma. Does emulating the dishonest hate and fear mongering of Russell Pearce, Joe Arpaio and Jan Brewer enhance your self esteem, make you feel better about yourself. Why do I get the feeling that you're a very unhappy person, unhappy about your own station in life and your relationships with others?
Dinosr posted at 5:05 pm on Thu, Jul 29, 2010.
Forkedlift1- Please watch your dirty mouth, You are
talking to some one who did it right. Be Glad there is
People that think this Country is worth working for and
don't expect us to feed them and pay for the towel to dry their backs. If You feel so strongly about this, Take
your Mex Flag and go Home. We have enough envaders. If you are a decent person- Act like it.
forkedlift1 posted at 10:03 pm on Thu, Jul 29, 2010.
Dinosr, (new screen name)
"Dirty mouth"? In what way? Do YOU believe AzMomma is a happy person? Is one who casts imagined negative aspersions to presumptuously demonize hundreds of people expressing a common cause a happy secure person? ("THEY have time to march and protest so it does raise the question of how they support their families, pay bills etc.") They this, and they that.
With great judgmental contempt, AzMomma even expresses her intolerance for a non-public stranger with a valid work visa whose inoffensive concerns were quoted in this article.
("As for the Mexican chick working in Phoenix on a legal visa - she might find herself pounding the pavement once her identity is reported to her employer.
Wonder how many patriotic employers will tolerate such a blatant 'flip off' anymore. I bet she IS replaceable with a US citizen.")
THAT is the politics of hate which AzMomma finds comfort in expressing as a substitute for her own low opinion of herself.
And in defense of AzMomma, you too buy into the culture of hate, with your absurd personalized mischaracterizations: "(they) expect us to feed them and pay for the towel to dry their backs." Good lord!
Also (to me): "Take your Mex flag and go home." Got a good laugh out of that one. Been to Mexico twice in my life, total time spent in Mexico, about three hours.
You and AzMomma have a lot to learn about self-serving politicians who fill your heads with lies.