Illegal Immigrant Measure Upheld

A federal judge on Wednesday cleared the way for a controversial Arizona law that denies some public services to illegal immigrants.

U.S. District Judge David C. Bury lifted an order that had blocked Proposition 200, which voters overwhelmingly passed last month. Shortly afterward, Gov. Janet Napolitano issued an executive order directing all state agencies to immediately implement the terms of the proposition.

“The voters made the decision, and I intend to make sure the law is enforced correctly,” said Napolitano, a Democrat, who had opposed the measure.

The law requires proof of immigration status from anyone trying to obtain state and local welfare benefits, and proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Government workers who don’t report illegal immigrants seeking services can be jailed.

Opponents, who planned to appeal Wednesday’s ruling, argued that the law usurped the power of the federal government by putting immigration policy in the state’s hands. The measure was a scaled-down version of California’s Proposition 187, which was passed by voters a decade ago but thrown out by the courts in part because it conflicted with federal laws.

But Prop. 200’s supporters said that it sent a strong message that illegal immigrants couldn’t expect to be rewarded for breaking the law. More important, they have argued, immigration must be discouraged in a state that was the nation’s busiest point of illegal entry.

Bury initially blocked the law until he could hear arguments challenging its constitutionality. After a hearing Wednesday in Tucson, Bury said he did not think “irreparable harm” would come from lifting the restraining order.

“Today’s ruling is what we expected, and now we are off and running,” said Randy Pullen, chairman of the Yes on Proposition 200 campaign. “This will have a huge impact because it says if you come here illegally and you apply for benefits, we are going to investigate it and it will be reported to immigration authorities. The bottom line is, they won’t come in and apply for it.”

But others said the law was not likely to ease illegal immigration.

“We are disappointed, but will be filing an appeal in the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco,” said former Arizona state Sen. Alfredo Gutierrez, a strong opponent of Prop. 200. “Even if the law goes forward, it will go forward in a limited fashion and applies to only a few programs.”

The law requires proof of immigration status to receive some state benefits, including general assistance, short-term crisis aid and child-care assistance. Federally mandated programs, such as emergency healthcare, are not affected. Illegal immigrants already are banned from services such as welfare and food stamps.

Gutierrez, who hosts a daily radio show, said he had received panicked calls from many immigrants here illegally.

“There is a lot of misinformation over what this will do,” he said. “The impact is more psychological than substantive. It is seen as an anti-immigrant, racially motivated act.”

The Arizona Department of Economic Security, which runs most of the programs affected by the law, has trained 2,340 employees on how to handle the measure.

“The one major change is, if you are an undocumented individual applying for benefits under one of the programs affected and we discover that, we are required by law to report it,” said Liz Barker, spokeswoman for the agency.

An appeal is expected to be filed Monday.