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A federal judge has blocked some of the most controversial provisions of Arizona’s new immigration law, which is due to take effect tomorrow. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Valeria Fernandez, a reporter with the project, Feet in Two Worlds, which brings immigrant reporters to public radio.
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MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman. This is The World. A federal judge today blocked key parts of Arizona’s new immigration law from going into effect. The blocked portions of the law include the most controversial parts like the requirement that police officers check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws. The overall law is still due to go into effect tomorrow. But the blocked portions will not. That’s sure to be a relief to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in Arizona. But the piecemeal nature of today’s ruling may also lead to lingering confusion about the law. Valeria Fernandez is with the immigration reporting project Feet in Two Worlds. Valeria, where are you right now and what are you seeing in relation to these blocked provisions?
VALERIA FERNANDEZ: Well, I am at the state capital of Arizona where [INDISCERNABLE] been a vigil in opposition of the new law. People are relieved, people are celebrating the news, even though it’s only part of SB1070. Some of them were very concerned about the provisions that made it a state crime for a person not to carry documents and she blocked those provisions. For a lot of these people, it is a victory.
WERMAN: Are there parts of the law that the federal judge has not blocked, or at least not yet, that remain a concern for immigrants in Arizona?
FERNANDEZ: Yeah, there is one particular aspect that has to do with the transportation of illegal immigrants while in the commission of another crime. She decided to keep that portion and there was a lot of concern in the community about what this could mean for people, you know, mixed status families, people that are married to US citizens and are here illegally when they’re driving together to church, when they’re taking their kids to school. There’s still a lot of concern in the community about what that’s going to mean for those who are in connection with illegal immigrants in their daily lives and in their families.
WERMAN: Right, I mean, the judge’s decision may feel like a victory for many, but I understand there are still workplace raids and deportations in Arizona, perhaps a reminder that there’s no law out there that, right now, that’s adequately protecting the immigrant community.
FERNANDEZ: Marco, that’s an excellent point. I mean Arizona has been at the forefront of all of these legislations for many years. We already have at least ten different laws in place that allow for local police to conduct arrests at the workplace, that allow for the police to charge immigrants that are being smuggled in the country with charges of conspiration. We have laws that limit the education of undocumented immigrants and some to, they’re required, social workers to report them when they apply for public benefits. That’s going to continue.
WERMAN: What’s been the reaction from the Arizonans who voted for this law in the first place?
FERNANDEZ: Well, people are extremely disappointed. I guess that’s an understatement. Frustrated, angry. But they’re going to appeal this. This is going to be appealed and it’s not over. Some are saying that they’re willing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court.
WERMAN: Valeria Fernandez, a journalist with the immigration reporting project Feet in Two Worlds, speaking with us from Phoenix. Thank you very much, Valeria.
FERNANDEZ: Thank you, Marco.
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