SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A federal judge has issued a split ruling on Utah's controversial immigration law, upholding one key measure but striking down several others.
U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups' ruling Wednesday upheld a key provision requiring authorities to check the immigration status of people arrested for felonies or Class A misdemeanors, such as theft. But he set limits on how it can be implemented.
Waddoups's ruling struck down a provision that allows warrantless arrests based solely on suspicion of immigration status. He also tossed a part that made it a state crime to harbor a person in the country illegally, and one that requires local officers to investigate immigration offenses.
The ruling comes more than a year after a hearing in the case and more than three years since the law was passed. The measure has been shelved pending a court review.