Ariz. Police Begin Enforcing Immigration Law

A U.S. District Court judge has lifted an injunction against the section of Arizona's immigration law that requires police officers to check the legal status of people under certain conditions during investigations or traffic stops.

A U.S. District Court judge has lifted an injunction against the section of Arizona's immigration law that requires police officers to check the legal status of people under certain conditions during investigations or traffic stops.

On Tuesday, Judge Susan Bolton ordered that the injunction be dissolved against Section 2B of Senate Bill 1070, reports the Arizona Republic.

Activists have referred to the section as the "show me your papers" section of the law, but officers with the Phoenix Police Department have always asked for identification from subjects stopped during the course of police work, Officer Ken Crane told POLICE Magazine.

"These activist groups want to get out there and say it's like Nazi Germany," said Crane, the vice president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association. "We don't stop people based on skin color. It's about the rule of law. Either youre obeying the law or you're not obeying the law."

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision upholding much of the law, the department provided its officers with training for enforcing its provisions. And now for any arrest, Phoenix officers must make a reasonable attempt to contact federal immigration authorities for a status check.

By Paul Clinton

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