Fate of New Immigration Laws Still In Play

USA Today reported that: After months of protest marches, federal lawsuits, economic boycotts and support rallies, two controversial immigration laws in Arizona and Nebraska are scheduled to take effect on Thursday. Yet both laws could still be derailed before then, leaving government officials, lawyers and hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in limbo. María Pabón López, a professor at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, said if both laws survive these initial tests, they will "unleash more copycat legislation." If they are struck down, it will take the "wind out of the sails" of a growing number of local government efforts to pass immigration laws. "These are going to be monumental decisions," López said. "A lot of people are holding their breath." In Arizona, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton is considering some of the seven lawsuits filed to halt the state's law. It would require police officers to question the immigration status of suspects stopped for another offense if there is a "reasonable suspicion" they are in the country illegally.