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COLUMBIA, SC (WACH) - On Monday, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling threw out key provisions in Arizona's illegal immigration law, causing ripple effects in other states that used Arizona's measure as a blueprint for their own laws.

Arizona's was the strictest law of its kind when it was enacted in 2010 and inspired similar legislation in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois and Utah.

The Supreme Court ruling determined that three of the four provisions of Arizona's law are unconstitutional. However, the court upheld the measure considered to be the most controversial aspect of the law, which allows local law enforcement to attempt to verify the immigration status of a person who has been stopped or detained for violating other laws, including traffic violations.

South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson called the ruling a "mixed bag," but applauded the court's move to uphold what is known as the "show me your papers" measure.

""Today's ruling from the United States Supreme Court in the Arizona immigration case contains a major victory for law enforcement in South Carolina," said Wilson. "The most important element of South Carolina's law, the ability of law enforcement to verify a suspected illegal alien's status upon an 'authorized lawful detention,' was found to be Constitutional on its face."

Governor Nikki Haley signed South Carolina's immigration measure into law one year ago this week. Since then it has faced criticisim from immigration advocates, scrutiny from the federal government, and has been held up by lawsuits.

In fact, the critical "show me your papers" provision of South Carolina's law had an injunction slapped on it by a judge.

Critics say the measure can lead to racial profiling based on how someone looks or sounds. They also argue that if immigration enforcement is left up to individual states it could potentially cause inconsistent enforcement across the country.

"It doesn't work when the entire system is not synchronized," said Roberto Belen of the South Carolina Hispanic Leadership Council. "Immigration is a problem. But, let's fix it from the top. Let's fix it for all 50 states and their territories and not make this a state-by-state issue."

While South Carolina leaders, including the governor, called Monday's ruling "good news" for South Carolina law enforcement, some in that community have argued in the past that policing immigration on the local and state level could put a burden on some departments and jails if they are left to do a job some argue is up to the federal government.

Now, (law enforcement) can do their job and verify that those suspected of being here illegally are actually here legally," said Haley. "But the ruling also underscores the need for leadership in Washington that finally addresses illegal immigration reform, and we will continue to fight for that kind of leadership.

After Monday's ruling was announced the ACLU also announced it had an $8.77 million "war chest" to challenge anti-immigrant law and defend potential civil rights violations.

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the "show me your papers" provision for now will lead to widespread civil rights violations until it is reviewed again and possibly struck down, said Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU. Today's decision is an invitation for more litigation, while civil rights are inevitably violated.

South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson says he plans to ask an appeals court to lift the injuction currently on the "show me your papers" provision in South Carolina.