US Court Blocks Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Law
WASHINGTON, Jul 28 (IPS) - In a legal victory for the administration of President Barack Obama, a federal court Wednesday temporarily blocked the implementation of key provisions of a controversial Arizona immigration law that was to take effect Thursday. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton ruled that state authorities could not enforce sections of the law - which has been vigorously denounced by Mexico and other Latin American countries - that required immigrants to carry their immigration documents with them at all times.
She also blocked a provision that would require police officers to make a "reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop if they suspect the subject is "unlawfully present" in the U.S. If the person cannot provide appropriate documentation, the officers are required to arrest them.
"There is a substantial likelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliens," the judge wrote in a decisions released by the court in Phoenix. "By enforcing this statute, Arizona would impose a 'distinct, unusual and extraordinary' burden on legal resident aliens that only the federal government has the authority to impose."
"Preserving the status quo through a preliminary injunction is less harmful than allowing state laws that are likely pre-empted by federal law to be enforced," she went on. A preliminary injunction is a temporary measure taken by courts to prevent certain actions from taking place pending a full adjudication of issues raised by a lawsuit, but her decision suggested strongly that Obama's Justice Department, which joined plaintiffs opposed to the law earlier this month, will prevail on the most controversial provisions.
At the same time, Brewer, who was appointed to the court by former President Bill Clinton, said some of the law's other provisions will be permitted to take effect Thursday. Among these are sections that make it illegal for a person to impede traffic in order to pick up day labourers and that forbids local police agencies from adopting policies that restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
"Today's ruling guts the unconstitutional immigration scheme that Arizona wanted to establish," said Nina Perales, who headed the legal team of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), one of half a dozen groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Justice Department, that challenged the law. "The judge's decision further shows that SB 1070 [the Arizona law] is an unconstitutional attempt by the state to take over the federal immigration system within Arizona's borders. States around the nation should take heed that any similar efforts will not succeed," she added.
But Arizona's Republican governor, Jan Brewer, said she intended to appeal the ruling. "It's a temporary bump in the road," she said of the injunction. "We will move forward, and I'm sure that, after consultation with our counsel, we will appeal," she told Associated Press while travelling out of state. "The bottom line is we've known all along that it is the responsibility of the feds [federal government] and they haven't done their job so we were going to help them do that."
The Arizona law, which was enacted in April, has become a lightning rod for the long-standing debate over U.S. immigration reform, border security, and the fate of the approximately 11 million people believed to be living illegally in the country. While Obama insisted during his presidential campaign that comprehensive immigration reform would be one of his top priorities, the combination of the economic crisis that broke out just before his election, and the anti-immigrant backlash as manifested by the right-wing populist "Tea Party" movement has dashed all hope that a bi-partisan package - one that would enjoy support in both parties - could pass Congress.
Familiar Pledges on Child and Maternal Health in Africa
KAMPALA, Jul 28 (IPS) - During the three-day summit of African Union heads of state, roughly 37,000 children and 2,000 women died across Africa, mostly from preventable causes, says a civil society coalition for child and maternal health. The coalition welcomed African leaders' pledge to make more resources available. The 15th summit of the African Union ended with a commitment to pay greater attention to maternal, newborn and child health. Leaders also repeated calls for the arrest warrant against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to be stayed and committed more troops to the AU mission in Somalia.
African leaders said Africa will not be able to meet the Millennium Development Goal on infant and maternal health if more resources are not made available. They again committed to allocating their own resources by fulfilling promises made in the 2001 Abuja Declaration to spend 15 percent of national budgets on health, and by exploring public private partnerships.
The AU appealed to donors who will meet in an October 2010 meeting of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to extend the fund's support to child and maternal health. The additional money is to be spent on strengthening public health systems with a focus on primary health care, family planning, improving infrastructure and training of more community health workers. It was also agreed to end out-of-pocket payments including user fees for pregnant women and children under five years.