This is going to come as a major surprise to many of you, but the Obama administration just won a victory in Federal Court.
I know, it’s crazy, but a federal judge actually sided with the Obama administration’s request for a preliminary injunction that will stay the effects of some provisions in Arizona’s controversial new immigration law. The Wall Street Journal reports:
A federal judge blocked key sections of Arizona’s tough new immigration law on Wednesday, granting the Obama administration’s request for an injunction based on the belief that immigration matters are the purview of the federal government.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton agreed to enjoin several provisions, including one that required police officers to check the immigration status of a person stopped for an alleged other violation, such as speeding, if reasonable suspicion existed that the individual was illegally in the U.S.
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It’s a preliminary victory of U.S. citizens who happen to look like illegal immigrants in the eyes of Arizona police officers…
The order won’t just stop cops from assuming every brown person they stop is an illegal immigrant. It also enjoins Arizona from forcing people to carry around citizenship documentation:
The judge also enjoined sections that required immigrants to carry papers proving their right to live in the U.S. at all times and another that banned undocumented workers from congregating in public places, such as street corners or outside stores, to solicit employment.
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Click here for the full 36-page order.
You’ll note that the court avoids a prolonged discussion of racial profiling.
Still, from Citizens United to the deep-water drilling moratorium, Obama has been smacked around by the courts recently. This victory should make the White House pretty happy… to say nothing of legal U.S. citizens who at least for a time will be allowed to go about their lives.
Judge Blocks Parts of Arizona Immigration Law [Wall Street Journal]