Arizona Immigration Law Faces Another Hurdle

POSTED: 6:51 pm MST May 21, 2010
UPDATED: 12:44 am MST May 22, 2010

PHOENIX -- John Morton, assistant secretary of homeland security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commented this week that ICE will not necessarily process illegal immigrants referred to them by Arizona authorities, according to published reports.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona called it encouraging.

“I think what it means is that they have some doubts themselves about the constitutionality of SB 1070, and I think that they doubt, as many of us do, that this law will ever take effect,” said Roberto Reveles, of ACLU of Arizona.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- who’s now staged more than a dozen controversial immigration and crime sweeps –- said he wasn’t surprised.

“I think that will hurt somewhat. I think it shows they are gearing toward amnesty -- shows people that are here illegally we have no way of taking them off the streets,” said Arpaio. “I’m going to enforce all the laws regardless of the roadblocks put up by Washington or certain politicians in this state.”

When asked about Morton’s comments, Matt Chandler, deputy press secretary of the Department of Homeland Security issued this statement:

“This administration has dedicated unprecedented manpower, technology, and infrastructure resources to the Southwest border over the course of the past 14 months and has prioritized smart, effective immigration enforcement that focuses first on criminal aliens who pose a threat to our communities. Across the country, we exercise lawful discretion in order to focus our efforts on violent and dangerous criminals in order to make our streets safer. The President ordered (the Department of Justice) to examine the civil rights and other implications of the Arizona law and that review will inform the government's actions going forward. We continue to work with Congress on comprehensive reform of our immigration system, which would provide lasting and dedicated resources to secure our borders and make our communities safer.”