U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton moved Wednesday to partially suspend enforcement of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, a victory for opponents of the legislation, including the Obama administration, who said it would lead to racial profiling.
Bolton blocked the part of the law that requires officers to determine the immigration status of people who are detained or arrested, Reuters reported. She also blocked the portion that makes it a crime to not carry immigration registration papers.
Bolton also blocked the part of the law that makes it a crime for illegal immigrants to seek or perform work, according to Reuters.
The ruling prevents the controversial elements of the law from taking effect until their legality can be fully explored.
A case filed by the U.S. Justice Department against Arizona alleged that the legislation conflicted with the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration laws.
The law, signed in April by Arizona’s Republican Governor Jan Brewer, required police who stopped people for such routine infractions as speeding to check their immigration status if there is “reasonable suspicion” they are here unlawfully.
The Justice Department suit claimed the law would “result in the harassment and detention of foreign visitors and legal immigrants, as well as U.S. citizens, who cannot readily prove their lawful status.”
President Barack Obama has blasted the law, calling it “divisive.”
Some 15,000 police officers across the state have undergone training to enforce the new law, myFOXphoenix.com reported.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has said he would not “put up with any civil disobedience” when the law takes effect Thursday.