An immigrant rights group scrapped its legal challenge that sought to block an Arizona law that lets local police officers arrest immigrants who cross the border anywhere except an official port of entry won’t move forward.
Two years ago,61% of voterspassed Proposition 314, known as the “Secure the Border Act.” The ballot measure made several changes to criminal law, but its most controversial provision gives state officials the power to enforce federal immigration law. It makes unauthorized entry a state-level crime, punishable with a class 1 misdemeanor which can lead to a jail sentence of up to 6 months.
But the law didn’t become effective until this summer because the Republican legislators who wrote it anticipated a legal challenge and tied the provision’s implementation date to that of a similar law in Texas that was mired in litigation at the time. A federal appeals court revived the Texas law in May, allowing Arizona’s version to become enforceable on July 15.
Days before the Arizona law could take effect, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, which provides free legal services for people facing deportation proceedings,filed a lawsuit against it in federal court, arguing that the law is unconstitutional and could lead to racial profiling and discriminatory arrests. Attorneys for the group also sought an order temporarily blocking the law from being enforced, but U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi rejected that request.
Still, the possibility of obtaining a preliminary injunction to freeze the law while litigation continued to determine whether to throw out the law completelyremained on the table. But that option collapsed this week, when attorneys with the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a voluntary dismissal, putting an end to the lawsuit. Tara DeGeorge, the organization’s legal director, said that they still believe the law is unconstitutional and vowed to keep an eye on how it’s enforced.
“Immigration enforcement falls under federal authority and is not a state responsibility,” she said, in a written statement. “We will continue to monitor for racial profiling, unlawful detentions, and deportations that violate people’s rights and continue educating the public about the law and its impact on Arizona communities.”
The organization didn’t say why it decided to withdraw the lawsuit, but a similar legal challenge against the Texas law ultimately failed because a federal appeals court panelruledthat the immigrant aid organizations involved didn’t have the right to file the lawsuit in the first place. State leaders who defended Prop. 314 in court made similar arguments.Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayesand Republican legislative leaders said that because the law hasn’t been enforced yet and the Florence Project doesn’t have any clients who have been affected by it, the lawsuit is too premature and speculative for the court to consider.
The ACLU of Arizona appeared to acknowledge the lack of evidence that the new law is leading to civil rights violations, noting in anews releasethat “to date there is no indication that any law enforcement agency or prosecutor in Arizona is enforcing (the state crime provision).” But the legal advocacy organization reiterated that despite that, the law remains unconstitutional, and emphasized that a lawsuit could still be brought in the future.
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