Judge Puts a Hold on Anti-Immigration Intiative Prop 200

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the implementation of Proposition 200, saying attorneys raised serious questions about its constitutionality and its potential conflicts with federal law. U.S. District Judge David C. Bury granted a temporary restraining order late Tuesday and set a Dec. 22 hearing on evidence for and against the anti-illegal immigration measure.  His action came several hours after a prominent Hispanic organization filed a lawsuit challenging the popular initiative and less than a day before Gov. Janet Napolitano was to proclaim it law.  The order, in effect through Dec. 22, will stop the scheduled implementation of the measure, which requires state and local government employees to verify the immigration status of people applying for public benefits and report violators to immigration authorities.  Randy Pullen, chairman of Yes on 200, which helped put the measure before voters, expressed confidence that the measure was carefully written and would withstand constitutional challenges. In the complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tucson, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, claimed Proposition 200 turns state employees into immigration agents, denies benefits covered by federal law and could discourage thousands of Arizonans from voting. Attorneys sued on behalf of more than a dozen plaintiffs, including undocumented immigrants, their children, and state employees from the Valley and Tucson. [more]