Arizona court rules illegal immigrants can be prosecuted under anti-smuggling law

Mike Rosen-Molina at 1:09 PM ET [JURIST] The Arizona Court of Appeals [official website] ruled Thursday that a 2005 state law [text] aimed at prosecuting smugglers hired to ferry illegal immigrants across the border into the US can also be used to prosecute the illegal immigrants. The judge rejected arguments that the law infringed on the powers of the federal government to regulate immigration. The law had been used by Maricopa County authorities to prosecute illegal immigrants as members of a conspiracy for their own border crossing, despite comments by law co-author Arizona state Rep. Jonathan Paton [official website] that it was not intended for that purpose. Capitol Media Services has [PDF text], which denies bail to illegal immigrants accused of committing serious felonies. Last year, a coalition of civil rights groups... [read full story]