A ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a ruling that prevents police in Arizona from enforcing a little-known section of SB 1070, the state’s 2010 immigration enforcement law that prohibited people from blocking traffic when they seek or offer day labor services on streets.
Challengers of the law argued the day labor rules unconstitutionally restrict the free speech rights of people who want to express their need for work.
In Arizona, it’s legal to hire or be hired for day labor, and the state’s day labor rules limit the ability of day laborers and employers to seek or offer a lawful service, the appeals court wrote. “Arizona has also singled out day labor solicitation for a harsh penalty while leaving other types of solicitation speech that blocks traffic unburdened,” the appeals panel wrote.
In Arizona, it’s legal to hire or be hired for day labor, and the state’s day labor rules limit the ability of day laborers and employers to seek or offer a lawful service, the appeals court wrote.
The appeals court said U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton had correctly determined that the day labor rules don’t meet a requirement that restrictions on commercial speech be no more extensive than necessary to serve the state’s interest in promoting traffic safety.
The injunction was first imposed in February 2012 when a U.S. District Court judge in Phoenix ruled that statutes prohibiting people from stopping their cars to hire and pick up day laborers soliciting work are unconstitutional. The 9th Circuit panel agreed that the statute infringed on the constitutionally guaranteed right to commercial speech.
If you’d like to discuss immigration matters, Brian Bergin, bbergin@roselawgroup.com
Information from AP and The Arizona Republic
