Arrests made as protests go on as planned after judge's ruling

PHOENIX - Officers made dozens of arrests at rallies in downtown Phoenix protesting Arizona's new immigration law. The law went into effect at midnight Thursday.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in the streets against the law, despite a federal judge's last-minute decision to block the most controversial parts of the measure.

Two dozen people were arrested as a group rallied in front of the federal courthouse in Phoenix, and later near the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Also, protesters rallied at the 4th Avenue Jail a few blocks away. There was a report that the jail was on lockdown. Sheriff's officials said 23 people were arrested as they protested in front of the jail.

Air15 video showed protesters blocking the entrance to the sallyport where people are brought in for booking. Several carried signs while others carried flags.

Sheriff's deputies were seen dragging several protesters sitting at the entrance into the garage.

Deputies appeared to be urging other protesters and media to move away from the sallyport entrance. More deputies in riot gear formed a semi-circle around the garage entrance, but the crowd moved forward, appearing to force the deputies back into the garage.

After a couple of hours, deputies were able to get the thinning crowd to move back from the garage entrance, but not before taking one more person into custody and freeing another man who had handcuffed himself to a door.

Dozens of deputies were seen walking in and lining Madison Street allowing the street to be re-opened. Sheriff Joe Arpaio said at a noon news conference he would delay his Thursday crime sweep to allow deputies to handle crowd control at the jail at the request of the Phoenix Police Department.

By 1 p.m., most of the protesters at the jail had dispersed.

Demonstrators first marched from the state Capitol at dawn on Thursday, then held a prayer service at a local church before heading to the courthouse where Judge Susan Bolton issued her ruling on Wednesday.

Chanting "Sheriff Joe, we are here, we will not live in fear," marchers then headed to the office of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has made a crackdown on illegal immigration one of his signature issues. Arpaio plans to send hundreds of officers into a neighborhood later Thursday.

Among the crowd was a drummer wearing a papier-mache Sheriff Joe head and dressed in prison garb.

Arpaio told ABC15 that Phoenix police officers are handling the situation as he focuses on a crime suppression planned for today. He also said through his Twitter account, "Just got a report that protesters are now trying to block my downtown jail sallyport and are chaining themselves to the jail." He also said, “I am prepared to arrest if protesters obstruct our operations.”

Protesters said the point they're trying to make is that SB1070 is only a part of the problem.

"SB1070 is not the only thing that we're working against here. It's a much deeper and more historically rooted environment of racism," Florida resident Anna Rodriguez said.

Protesters and activists also made their presence felt at midnight on Thursday, when the new law went into effect.

People in anti-SB1070 shirts lined Guadalupe streets as part of a passive resistance, claiming they have been victims of racial profiling for years. Protesters said they hoped to send a message to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and admitted they expected run-ins with deputies over their show of dissent.

Around 12:30 a.m., dozens of people could be seen blocking Avenida del Yaqui, the main roadway in and out of Guadalupe. At least three Sheriff's deputies were at the scene trying to control traffic in the area after four city buses were forced to stop on the side of the road.

Peaceful demonstrations also continued through the night at the State Capitol, where more than 100 people took part in a candlelight vigil. Groups moved the vigil onto 17th Avenue directly in front of the Capitol, forcing a section of the roadway to be shut down.