http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071208/D8TDDFLO0.html

Ariz. Immigration Law Challenge Tossed

Dec 8, 12:41 PM (ET)

By JACQUES BILLEAUD

PHOENIX (AP) - A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking to
block a new Arizona law that prohibits people from hiring illegal
immigrants and requires businesses to verify whether applicants are
eligible for employment.

The law takes effect Jan. 1.

In his ruling on Friday, U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake wrote that
the lawsuit was premature because there was no evidence that anybody
had been harmed, and that the plaintiffs - a coalition of business and
immigrant rights groups - were suing the wrong people.

The ruling said the law gives only investigatory authority to the
governor and state attorney general, who were named as defendants.
Wake said county prosecutors, who weren't defendants, actually have
the power to enforce the law.

The plaintiffs had asked for a preliminary injunction blocking the law
from taking effect.

Julie Pace, an attorney for the business groups, said her clients were
meeting Saturday to determine whether to appeal the ruling or file a
separate lawsuit against the county prosecutors. She said the business
groups could pursue both avenues.

Alfredo Gutierrez, a spokesman for immigrant rights groups, said they
plan to refile the lawsuit after Jan. 1, when they might be able to
show damages caused by the law.

A spokesman for Gov. Janet Napolitano said the governor's office had
not yet read the ruling and had no immediate comment.

Napolitano signed the bill in July, saying that while immigration is a
federal responsibility, Congress was apparently "incapable of coping
with the comprehensive immigration reforms our country needs."

The law is intended to curb Arizona's role as the busiest illegal
gateway into the country. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that
illegal immigrants account for one in 10 workers in the Arizona
economy.

Under the law, any business that is found to have knowingly hired an
illegal worker is subject to sanctions ranging from probation to a 10-
day suspension of its business licenses. A second violation would
bring permanent revocation of the license.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit had argued the law was an
unconstitutional attempt by the state to regulate immigration, which
is the responsibility of the federal government. The judge's ruling
did not address that argument.

"He didn't uphold the law," Pace said. "He didn't decide if it was
constitutional. We can have that argument another day."

Attorneys for the state say the groups weren't reading the law
correctly and that it does not conflict with federal law.