Arizona Immigration law suffers a setback

Federal Court detemined that state and local officers can enforce federal immigration law on an “incidental and as-needed basis only

By Reynold N. Mason JD

Last Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Arizona District Court’s injunction of key provisions of S.B. 1070, Arizona’s new immigration enforcement law. The ruling is the result of the Obama Administration’s lawsuit against the State of Arizona, filed by the Justice Department, which sought to prevent the law from taking effect last July. Monday’s ruling by the Ninth Circuit’s three-judge panel upheld the District Court’s injunction, ruling that the provision requiring law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of individuals lawfully stopped if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is an illegal alien—was preempted by federal law.

The court ruled that under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), state and local law enforcement officers could only enforce federal immigration law under the direction of the U.S. Attorney General within the confines of INA Section 287(g). The court interpreted 287(g) to mean that in the absence of a written agreement with the Attorney General, state and local officers are only permitted to enforce federal immigration law on an “incidental and as-needed basis,â€