Judge Appears Unlikely to Block Law Penalizing Hiring of Illegal Immigrants
A federal judge appears unwilling to block a new Arizona law cracking down on employers that hire illegal immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Neil Wake of Phoenix said at a hearing yesterday that he was not inclined to issue an injunction to prevent the law from going into effect on Jan. 1, the New York Times reports. He promised a ruling by the end of the week.
County attorneys charged with enforcing the law told the judge that even if it takes effect, it would take at least a month to investigate reported violations and begin prosecutions, the Arizona Republic reports.
Employers that violate the law can have their business license suspended or revoked.
The Arizona Republic characterized the hearing as “sometimes testy” and said the judge chastised plaintiffs’ lawyers for failing to heed his advice in September, when he said they had sued the wrong defendants.
Wake dismissed the plaintiffs’ original suit earlier this month because they had failed to sue the county attorneys who would enforce the law. The plaintiffs then refiled the suit and named the county attorneys.
Wake said the eleventh-hour nature of the request for an injunction was the plaintiffs’ own fault.
