As Border Violence Intensifies, Ariz. Gov. Defends New Law

Seven bodies were found Oct. 31 in a mass grave in Nogales, Arizona’s largest border city. According to a Fox News report, the city’s mayor, José Angel Hernandez, related that officers recovered six bodies and a severed head in a riverbed; a seventh headless body was found nearby.

Though the report did not attribute the deaths to drug-related activity, the bodies were found in an area of the state so well known for border violence that the National Parks have posted signs warning visitors that the area is unsafe.

On Nov. 1, the day after the discovery of the seven bodies, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer appeared in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to defend the state’s new immigration law, S.B. 1070, which addresses the state’s growing problems of drug-related crimes and an increase in undocumented alien traffic which have caused border violence to spiral out of control.

Governor Brewer and her lawyers faced a panel of 3 judges who questioned the way the law was carried out. Justice Department lawyers say parts of the state law are unconstitutional and would interfere with federal law enforcement.

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Federal court makes decision on Arizona immigration law

A federal appeals court has ruled against an Arizona law that requires residents to prove their U.S. citizenship to register to vote, but upheld a part of the same law that mandates residents to show identification before voting.

The decision made by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Tuesday was part of an ongoing court battle surrounding Arizona's Proposition 200.

Arizona passed the law in 2004, prompting legal challenges.

Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer and Secretary of State Ken Bennett blasted the court's decision Tuesday in a joint statement.

"The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a simple, common sense protection approved by Arizona voters requiring that all individuals provide evidence of U.S. citizenship prior to registering to vote. This decision is an outrage and a slap in the face to all Arizonans who care about the integrity of their elections," the statement said.

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