Puente Arizona asks federal court to reconsider its ruling overturning a ban on Arpaio workplace raids

Puente Arizona, a local civil- and immigrant-rights group, is asking a federal court to reconsider its recent decision to overturn a ban on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's controversial workplace raids, according to a petition filed Monday.

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on May 2 reversed a court injunction issued in January 2015 that blocked Arpaio's raids targeting undocumented immigrants, which the Sheriff's Office started doing in 2008.

Puente's petition claims the panel's ruling will have "dangerous and wide-ranging impacts" while "leaving the immigrant community without protection," according to court documents. The petition accuses the panel of subverting the U.S. Supreme Court and requests a rehearing by the full 9th Circuit Court.

During its existence, Arpaio's work-site identity-theft enforcement unit conducted an estimated 83 operations, arresting more than 780 people. The operations drew criticism for overwhelmingly targeting low-level employees at businesses such as restaurants and car washes, rather than their employers.

Puente and other civil-rights advocates filed a lawsuit challenging the merits of two state laws that make it a felony for undocumented immigrants to use stolen identities to obtain work. The plaintiffs said the laws were less about public safety and instead designed to work as a deportation machine. In this vein, they said, the state laws were preempted by federal immigration rules.

U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell issued an injunction against Arpaio's raids in 2015 and said the laws would likely be found unconstitutional.

In its May 2 ruling, the 9th Circuit panel acknowledged that some applications of the Arizona laws may conflict with the federal government, but that wasn't the case when they were used to prosecute U.S. citizens. The case was sent back to the lower U.S. District Court for review.