| A federal judge on Wednesday lifted an order barring Proposition 200 from becoming law, clearing the way for state, county and municipal employees to immediately start reporting to immigration authorities suspected undocumented immigrants seeking public benefits. U.S. District Judge David Bury's decision allowed Gov. Janet Napolitano to issue an executive order enacting the controversial voter-approved legislation Wednesday afternoon. The decision left some municipal officials across the Valley and state scrambling to prepare workers who will be required to ask all who apply for public welfare benefits for proof of citizenship. Attorneys for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the legal advocacy group that sued to stop the government from enforcing the initiative, plan to appeal the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco today or Monday. But state officials vowed that the law will go into effect and said workers will be equipped to deal with the new reporting requirements. |