Arizona's new immigration law, the "papers please" law that requires law enforcement to demand the documents of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally, will go in effect tomorrow unless U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton places an injunction on it today. She has said that "she feels no obligation to rule before the law goes into effect July 29," but NBC is reporting that she will rule today.
She could move to suspend enforcement of all or parts of the law based on several constitutional challenges, or take no action. Depending on her ruling, police could retool their policies accordingly.
The core of the law, The Arizona Republic reports, says police, when lawfully stopping, detaining or arresting a person that they have reasonable suspicion is undocumented, "must, when practicable, make reasonable efforts to determine the person's immigration status, except when it would interfere with an investigation."
In addition to the police action required, the bill also makes it a misdemeanor for an lawful immigrant to fail to carry their documents, and introduces additional penalties for sheltering, transporting, or hiring of illegal undocumented workers. The ruling is expected by 3:00 EDT.
Update: Pete Williams is reporting on MSNBC that the ruling has come down, and the judge has struck down put an injunction on some of the most controversial elements of the bill: enforcing the section requiring police from demanding documents, the requirement for legal immigrants to carry them, making it illegal for people to hire unauthorized laborers that might be undocumented to seek work, and allowing cops to make arrests without warrants if they think the suspect is in the country illegally.
Update 2: Via e-mail, here are the sections enjoined by Judge Bolton:
Applying the proper legal standards based upon well-established precedent, the Court finds that the United States is likely to succeed on the merits in showing that the following Sections of S.B. 1070 are preempted by federal law:
Portion of Section 2 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. § 11-1051(B): requiring that an officer make a reasonable attempt to
determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is unlawfully present in the United States, and requiring verification of the immigration status of any person arrested prior to releasing that person
Section 3 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. § 13-1509: creating a crime for the failure to apply for or carry alien registration papers
Portion of Section 5 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. § 13-2928(C): creating a crime for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work
Section 6 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. § 13-3883(A)(5): authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the United States
Read the decision here.