5. News from the Courts:

Key parts of Arizona anti-immigration law blocked

Reuters reports that U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked several key parts of Arizona’s controversial immigration shortly before it was to take effect.  The provisions blocked included requiring a police officer to determine the immigration status of a detained or arrested individual and requiring immigrants to carry their documentation with them at all times.  The Justice Department argued that Arizona’s law infringed on federal authority over immigration policy and Bolton agreed, finding that the ‘United States is likely to suffer irreparable harm’ if her court did not overturn certain sections of the law.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said she ‘will soon file an expedited appeal’ to reinstate the provisions, which could ultimately reach the Supreme Court.  However, Peter Spiro, a law professor at Temple University and former attorney in the State Department, said that the court’s decision would take ‘the wind out of the sails of anti-immigration efforts on the state level’ and doesn’t expect the blocked provision to ever go into effect.

http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USTRE66R45C20100728

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Nebraska city suspends immigration law, goes to court

The Washington Times reports that the city council of Fremont, Nebraska has suspended its voter-approved ban on hiring or renting property to illegally present immigrants by a unanimous vote.  The city council hopes that delaying the ordinance will save the city money as it fights lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund.  They have hired Kansas-based attorney Kris Kobach, who drafted the ordinance and also helped write Arizona’s new immigration law.

The Nebraska ordinance would require employers to use a federal online system to check a person’s immigration status and for prospective property renters to apply for a $5 permit at City Hall.  Those who said they were not citizens would have their legal status checked and would be forced to leave the property if they did not provide proper documentation. 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jul/28/nebraska-city-suspends-immigration-law-goes-court/print/    
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