Federal Judge Strips Out Key Parts of Arizona Immigration Law

In an important 11^th hour development, a federal judge has stripped critical provisions away from Arizona’s controversial immigration law.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled the following points will not go into effect, according to an Arizona Republic story:

•  The portion of the law that requires an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if there's reasonable suspicion they're in the country illegally.

•  The portion that creates a crime of failure to apply for or carry “alien-registration papers.”

•  The portion that makes it a crime for illegal immigrants to solicit, apply for or perform work. (This does not include the section on day laborers.)

•  The portion that allows for a warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe they have committed a public offense that makes them removable from the United States.

This is an issue that has divided the general public and Christians alike.

The Louisville-based Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has come out against the law as have many Catholic dioceses, including Phoenix. It’s far from unanimous though, particularly with groups which forward conservative social values.

As a reaction to the impending law, conservative evangelicals are trying to form what otherwise could be viewed as an unusual alliance with the Obama Administration to push for comprehensive national immigration reform.