Arizona’s SB 1070 Day Laborer Solicitation Provisions Enjoined

Even after the Supreme Court decision invalidating core provisions of Arizona’s immigration enforcement law known as SB 1070, the law continues to be taking a beating in the courts.  Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Valle del Sol Inc. v. Whiting , in an opinion by Judge Fisher (and joined by Judges Tallman and Callahan) affirmed the district court’s grant of apreliminary injunction barring the enforcement of twoprovisions in Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070, which make itunlawful for a motor vehicle occupant to hire or attempt tohire a person for work at another location from a stopped carthat impedes traffic, or for a person to be hired in such amanner.The panel held that the district court correctly determinedthat, though Arizona has a significant government interest inpromoting traffic safety, the day labor provisions failed therequirement set forth in Central Hudson Gas & ElectricCorp. v. Public Service Commission of New York, 447 U.S.557, 566 (1980), that restrictions on commercial speech be nomore extensive than necessary to serve that interest. Thepanel held that the district court did not abuse its discretion inconcluding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on themerits and that the other requirements for a preliminary injunction were satisfied.

Here are portions of the press release from MALDEF, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, about its victory in the case:

Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the provisions of SB 1070, Arizona’s anti-immigrant racial profiling law, that seek to criminalize the solicitation of day labor work, should remain blocked. The court held that the provisions likely violate day laborers’ First Amendment free speech right to solicit work on public streets.

Today’s opinion reaffirms that the freedom to speak in seeking work is a constitutionally protected right. The decision also recognizes that the explicit intent of the anti-day labor provisions of SB 1070 is to drive immigrants from the state of Arizona – not, as the state had argued in court, to preserve traffic safety.

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Plaintiffs’ attorneys include a coalition of civil rights organizations that have an established a tradition of fighting to protect first amendment rights for all members of society and have been at the forefront of the battle to challenge all of the discriminatory and unconstitutional provisions in SB 1070. MALDEF, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), ACLU, and the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) represent labor, domestic violence, day laborer, human services and social justice organizations, including Service Employees International Union (SEIU), SEIU Local 5, United Food and Commercial Workers International (UFCW), Arizona South Asians for Safe Families (ASAFSF), Southside Presbyterian Church, Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Asian Chamber of Commerce of Arizona, Border Action Network, Tonatierra Community Development Institute, Muslim American Society, Japanese American Citizens League, Valle de Sol, Inc. and Coalicion de Derechos Humanos.

KJ