Pew Research Hispanic Center: Arizona

9th Circuit U.S. Court Of Appeals Dept: A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard arguments from attorneys on both sides of the debate over a section of the state's law that penalizes those who give rides to, house or otherwise "harbour" people in the country illegally, according to Vancouver Sun. Arizona has taken centre stage in the national immigration debate. The state has the nation's eighth-highest population of immigrants living in the country illegally, according to the Pew Research Hispanic Center, and in 2010 they represented roughly 6 per cent of the state's population and SAN FRANCISCO - The federal government argued on Tuesday that a section of Arizona's controversial 2010 immigration law that prohibits "harbouring" people living in the country illegally should be blocked. The harbouring law was in effect from July 2010 until a lower court last year barred police from enforcing it. Gov. Jan Brewer has asked the 9th Circuit in San Francisco to overturn the lower court's ruling. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.