- APDay laborers wait for work near a Home Depot store in Phoenix.
A federal judge blocked police in
Arizona from enforcing a section of the state's 2010 immigration
enforcement law that prohibited people from blocking traffic when they
seek or offer day labor services on streets.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton
ruled Wednesday that groups seeking to overturn the law will likely
prevail in their claim that the day labor rules violate the First
Amendment.
The ban was among a handful of provisions in
the law that were allowed to take effect after a July 2010 decision by
Bolton halted enforcement of other, more controversial elements of the
law. The previously blocked portions include a requirement that police,
while enforcing other laws, question people's immigration status if
officers suspect they are in the country illegally.
The U.S. Supreme Court
has agreed to hear Gov. Jan Brewer's appeal of Bolton's decision to put
the most contentious elements of the law on hold. Another appeals court
has already upheld Bolton's ruling.
Three of the seven challenges to the Arizona law remain alive. No trial date has yet been scheduled in the three cases.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund and other opponents had asked the judge for a
preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the day labor rules,
arguing they unconstitutionally restrict the free speech rights of
people who want to express their need for work.
Brewer's lawyers had opposed attempts to
halt enforcement of the day labor restrictions. They argued the
restrictions are meant to confront safety concerns, distractions to
drivers, harassment to passers-by, trespassing and damage to property.
Brewer's lawyers have said day laborers
congregate on roadsides in large groups, flagging down vehicles and
often swarming those that stop. They also said day laborers in Phoenix
and its suburbs of Chandler, Mesa and Fountain Hills leave behind water
bottles, food wrappers and other trash.
Bolton previously denied an earlier request
to block the day labor rules, but opponents were allowed to bring it up
again after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on a similar issue in
September.
The appeals court had suspended a law from
Redondo Beach, Calif., that banned day laborers from standing on public
sidewalks while soliciting work from motorists. The court ruled the law
violated workers' free speech rights and was so broad that it was
illegal for children to shout "car wash" to passing drivers
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/29/federal-judge-blocks-arizonas-day-laborer-restrictions/?test=latestnews#ixzz1nppqit8O
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