Federal Judge Susan Bolton has blocked two portions of Arizona's immigration enforcement law, including the law's most controversial section requiring police officers to ask individuals stopped, detained or arrested to prove their legal status if the officer has "reasonable suspicion" that the individual is in the country illegally.
Judge Bolton also blocked the provisions that require the carrying of federal immigration papers, even though federal law requires legal permanent residents to carry their green cards at all times, and the section that prohibits illegal aliens to solicit for work in public places.
In her ruling, Judge Bolton said that since the police are required to check the status of anyone in custody who is suspected of being in the country illegally, it will overburden the system causing legal immigrants to remain in custody for a longer period of time while their status is checked.
The provision of the law that restricts the transporting of illegal aliens will still take effect on Thursday, July 29.
Today's ruling is not the final judgment on the Arizona law. Judge Bolton's decision simply suspends the one portion of the law until she offers a final ruling on the government's lawsuit against the state.