By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) - Federal authorities have asked an appeals court to
reject Arizona's bid to overturn a ruling that bars enforcement of a
minor section of the state's 2010 immigration law prohibiting the
harboring of illegal immigrants.
The U.S. Justice Department told the 9th Circuit
Court of Appeals in a Dec. 27 filing that Arizona's harboring ban is
trumped by the federal government's broad immigration powers and that
federal law already prohibits people from harboring illegal immigrants
within the United States.
"It is the national government that has ultimate
authority to regulate the treatment of aliens while on American soil
because it is the nation as a whole, and not any single state, that must
respond to the international consequences of such treatment," Justice
Department lawyers said in a friend-of-the-court brief.
The federal government, which filed a lawsuit in
2010 challenging the law, filed the brief as part of a separate
challenge mounted by a coalition of civil rights groups.
The harboring ban was in effect from late July 2010
until U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked its enforcement on Sept.
5 as part of civil rights coalition's challenge. Two weeks before
shelving the ban, Bolton said she knew of no arrests that were made
under the provision.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the measure
known as SB1070 into law and serves as the statute's chief defender, has
asked the appeals court to reverse Bolton's ruling. Her office did not
respond to requests for comment this week.
Brewer's lawyers have told the appeals court that
the harboring ban was passed to confront crime in Arizona, doesn't
conflict with federal policies and that the civil rights coalition
hasn't shown it has legal standing to challenge the ban.
The harboring prohibition has been overshadowed by
other parts of the law, including a requirement that went into effect on
Sept. 18 that officers, while enforcing other laws, question the
immigration status of those suspected of being in the country illegally.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the questioning
requirement earlier this year but also struck down other sections of the
law, such as a requirement that immigrants obtain or carry immigration
registration papers. The nation's highest court didn't consider the
harboring ban.
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