Phoenix , Arizona ( CNN ) -- The legal battle over a tough Arizona immigration law entered its next stage Thursday when Gov . Jan Brewer filed an expedited appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals . The appeal asks the court to lift a preliminary injunction granted by a federal judge that blocked the most controversial parts of the law . The court document suggests a fast-track timetable that would have oral arguments on the appeal on September 13 . Before then , Arizona would file a substantive brief to the court and the U.S. Department of Justice would respond . The Justice Department responded to the motion Thursday , opposing the proposed timetable that would force the government to respond in half the typical time allotted . `` America is not going to sit back and allow the ongoing federal failures to continue , '' Brewer said in a statement . We are a nation of laws and we believe they need to be enforced . '' Following Wednesday 's injunction , some legal experts expect that the fight between the federal government and Arizona will reach the U.S. Supreme Court . `` We 'll win on appeal , '' said Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce , who wrote the law , known as SB 1070 . `` I got news for the anarchists , '' he added . `` Our laws will be enforced . '' But Isabel Garcia , an immigrants ' rights activist and a legal defender in Pima County , Arizona , said she is confident that Wednesday 's ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton will prevail under appeal . `` The court will not allow the state of Arizona to criminalize undocumented immigrants , '' Garcia told CNN . The judge 's ruling `` gutted '' the Arizona law , Garcia said . The preliminary injunction issued Wednesday prevents police from questioning people 's immigration status if there is reason to believe they are in the country illegally . Bolton also blocked provisions of the law making it a crime for people to fail to apply for or carry `` alien registration papers '' or `` for an unauthorized alien to solicit , apply for , or perform work , '' as well as a provision `` authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person '' if there is reason to believe that person might be subject to deportation . The parts of the law that took effect Thursday include a ban on so-called `` sanctuary cities '' -- municipalities with laws or policies that render them relatively safe for undocumented immigrants . Pearce noted that provision in the judge 's ruling . `` It was still a victory for Arizona , '' he told CNN 's `` Newsroom AM '' program . The judge also allowed a provision in the law that makes it illegal to hire day laborers if doing so impedes traffic . The parts of the law dealing with sanctions for employers who hire illegal immigrants also withstood the first legal test . Despite the judge 's ruling -- or perhaps because of it -- tensions remained elevated Thursday . Several demonstrators who oppose the immigration law were arrested Thursday afternoon in downtown Phoenix , where police blocked off several downtown streets and officers in riot gear were deployed throughout the area . Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said there were approximately 200 protesters oustide of a Phoenix jail . At least 15 protesters had been arrested , he said . Arpaio , a staunch supporter of the immigration law , and his department went ahead on Thursday with a sweep where violators of the law are subsequently investigated to verify their immigration status . The sweeps do not contradict the judge 's ruling because there are other laws that allow the transferring of undocumented workers from state jails to federal immigration custody afterwards , he said . `` Nothing is going to deter the sheriff and my office , including rulings by the federal judge . So , business as normal , '' he said . From the other side of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border , the governor of Sonora state noted that the law has produced `` much tension '' between the two state governments . `` It puts a lot of tension to border states like Sonora , '' Guillermo Padres Elias told CNN . CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said the ruling reflects the government 's argument that immigration enforcement should be dealt with at the federal level . `` Arizona may have good intentions , they may be trying to make up for where the U.S. government has failed , but what the judge is saying is , this is not the way to do it , '' he said . `` I think this [ is ] a case very much destined for the Supreme Court , '' as other states pass similar laws , Toobin said . Pearce , author of the law , said he foresaw a protracted legal fight from the beginning . `` I wrote it to go to the Supreme Court , '' he said before the ruling came down . `` I 'm begging for that fistfight at the Supreme Court . We will win in a 5-4 decision and finally settle this problem . '' He added , `` My message to the judge , is uphold the Constitution . Uphold states ' rights . This is a battle of epic proportions . This is the states versus the central government . '' The federal appeals court could take up the case in a matter of days , but the earliest the Supreme Court could look at it would be October , because the high court is in summer recess . CNN 's Arthur Brice , Adam Blank , Phil Gast and Holly Yan contributed to this report .
Justice Department denies fast - track appeal . Arizona Senate denies expedited appeal . Opponents of the law say the state ` ` gutted '' the measure . Governor blocks police from questioning people 's immigration status .