Aftermath of the SB 1070 ruling
The last goes into effect today—or at least what’s left of it.
From the Republic this a.m.:
Leading up to 12:01 this morning, when the law took effect:
• Police struggled to figure out how they should enforce portions of Senate Bill 1070 that were not blocked by Bolton’s ruling in favor of the U.S. Department of Justice.
• Gov. Jan Brewer and her attorneys debated whether to fight the preliminary injunction before deciding to appeal amid speculation that the case may wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Demonstrators for and against the statute discussed whether to proceed with statewide protests, including plans for civil disobedience.
• Illegal immigrants, many of them hunkered down or contemplating an exodus from the state, remained in limbo.
• And everyone awaited further rulings from Bolton, who has yet to deal with motions in six additional lawsuits filed against SB 1070 by the ACLU, other activist groups and police officers.
There’s a recipe for chaos!
The federal judge who ruled on Arizona’s tragic, noxious new immigration law on Wednesday did not stop all of it from taking effect Thursday, but she preliminarily halted the worst of it. And although appeals are certain, Judge Susan Bolton offered clear and well-reasoned arguments affirming the federal government’s final authority over immigration enforcement. We hope this is the beginning of the end of the misbegotten Arizona rules and what they represent.
8:16 AM
NYT looks at Arizona again
The angle this time, detailed in a front-page story: Political fault lines in the GOP SB 1070 is causing.
Republican lawmakers and candidates are increasingly divided over illegal immigration — torn between the need to attract Latino support, especially at the ballot box, and rallying party members who support tougher action.
Arizona’s new measure, which requires that the police check the documents of anyone they stop or detain whom they suspect of being in the country illegally, has forced politicians far and wide to take a stance. But unlike in Washington, where a consensus exists among establishment Republicans, the fault lines in the states — where the issue is even more visceral and immediate — are not predictable.
11:28 AM
The NYT goes after Arizona again
An editorial today, entitled “Los Suns,” approvingly cites the basketball team’s position on SB 1070 and goes on from there to scold the state every which way:
Before this goes any further, Arizona should check the scars of the early ’90s when the state arrogantly rejected Martin Luther King’s Birthday as a holiday and prompted cancellations of more than 100 lucrative conventions and events, including the Super Bowl. It’s pathetic that Arizona’s politicians would put the state through that once again. Arizona should repeal this law immediately.
2:59 PM
NYT: Arizona's looming new immigration bill is an "outrage"
The yahoos in Arizona don’t care what the New York Times thinks. Other people do, from business leaders who might open up offices here to convention planners who might be pondering over where to direct a 10,000-member organization.
Here’s what they read this a.m.:
The Arizona Legislature has just stepped off the deep end of the immigration debate, passing a harsh and mean-spirited bill that would do little to stop illegal immigration. What it would do is lead to more racial profiling, hobble local law enforcement, and open government agencies to frivolous, politically driven lawsuits.
The bill is a grab bag of measures to enlist law enforcement and government at every level to expose and expel the undocumented. Opponents say it verges on a police state, which sounds overblown until you read it.
Emphasis added. The editorial goes on to demolish the bill’s provisions.
The bill goes back to the state senate tomorrow. AZ Republic story on the logistics here.
The governor hasn’t said whether she will sign it; Stephen Lemons of New Times, who’s been covering the bill’s hateful supporters better than anyone, says it’s likely she will — or will let it go into law without her signature.
6:39 PM