Federal Court Allows Arizona’s Deportation Scheme to Temporarily Take Effect While Challenge to Prop. 314 Proceeds

PHOENIX – A federal judge Friday denied a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Section 5 of Proposition (Prop.) 314 on Friday, which would have prevented Arizona’s unconstitutional immigration law from being enforceable for 14 days. Litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Arizona on behalf of the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (FIRRP) challenging the constitutionality of the law will proceed without temporary relief.

Under Section 5, state and local law enforcement agencies in Arizona could move forward with arresting, detaining, and deporting people they believe to have entered Arizona from another country without federal immigration status after July 14, 2026.

"We are disappointed that the judge did not grant the TRO protecting our clients and organization from the harms threatened by Section 5 of Proposition 314,” said Laura St. John, legal director at the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. “However, we are ready to keep fighting to ensure that our clients are not subjected to the illegal deportations that this law will certainly lead to."

“Today’s decision is troubling, but this case is far from settled. In the meantime, we will be closely monitoring the effects that Section 5 could have on Arizona communities,” said Tara DeGeorge, legal director for the ACLU of Arizona. “We will continue to push for relief to ensure The Florence Project can continue its mission to serve adults and children facing removal proceedings without the state-mandated barriers posed by Section 5, and to prevent the racial profiling, illegal detentions, unlawful deportations that this unconstitutional law invites.”

“While we’re disappointed that Arizona’s immigration scheme is not already on hold, this lawsuit proceeds,” said Kate Huddleston, senior staff attorney for the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “Every court throughout the country that has examined the issue has held similar laws unconstitutional, and Section 5 of Prop. 314 is likewise unconstitutional.”