Goddard will defend new law
By Jonathan Clark, Nogales International
Published: Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:21 PM MST
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard says he intends to defend Arizona’s new immigration law from legal challenges despite his personal opposition to it and previous statements that he would likely recuse himself from such cases.

In an interview this week with the Nogales International, Goddard said that changes made to the measure after Gov. Jan Brewer first signed it into law April 23 had convinced him that the law could be defended.

So far, five lawsuits have been filed claiming that the law, known as SB 1070, will lead to racial profiling, among other problems.

But while the original version of SB 1070 permitted police to use race as a factor in deciding whom to question about their immigration status, the new law eliminates that provision. And while the first version allowed police to question “reasonably suspiciousâ€