Wednesday's ruling on immigration in Arizona has a large impact beyond the Southwestern state's borders because a federal judge's decision to block the most austere portions of a new law could give the federal government the upper hand in future contests with individual states. Nine states filed papers in favor of the Arizona law, which was opposed by the Obama administration and its attorney general, Eric Holder. The judge ruled that the Arizona law, which would have required citizens to show their papers at the request of police officers, interfered with federal law and policy. The decision, while not final, could put an end to the growing movement among states to fight illegal immigration with new state-level requirements.
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