By Michael Kiefer | The Arizona Republic
What a law says and what it really means should be one and the same.
That was the issue an attorney for Arizona faced Tuesday morning as she tried to persuade a contentious three-judge panel at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to lift an injunction against an Arizona statute making it a crime to harbor or transport illegal immigrants.
The judges took the matter under advisement.
During the hearing, the state’s opponents claimed the law was too broadly written.
The judges questioned who exactly would be the targets of the law. One of them said the wording of the law was “incomprehensible.”
The state maintains it would affect only criminals, but a coalition of civil-rights groups worries that it would also threaten organizations that work with or provide support for illegal immigrants.
The law, known as ARS: 13-2929, is part of the 2010 immigration law SB 1070.
It is the sixth piece of that law to be enjoined in federal court as unconstitutional or pre-empted by federal law. So far, only one of those statutes has been reinstated in the courts, despite appeals by the state.
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Associated Press bans ‘illegal immigrant’…
If you’d like to discuss immigration matters, Brian Bergin, bbergin@roselawgroup.com
