Republican plans to widen Arizona's controversial illegal immigration crackdown by making hospitals check whether patients are in the US legally have enraged medical professionals who fear becoming de facto government agents.

America’s self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff” is being sued by the US government for his “unprecedented” defiance over an investigation into alleged discrimination against Hispanics.

ARIZONA is preparing to ask an appeals court to lift a judge’s ruling that put most of the state’s immigration law on hold in a key first-round victory for the federal government in a fight that may go to the US Supreme Court.