A day after a federal judge halted the most controversial sections of their new immigration laws, Arizona officials are ready to carry on the fight.

Governor Jan Brewer and her allies plan to take their case for the portions of the law halted Wednesday by a Federal District Court judge to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today.

Meanwhile, opponents of Arizona's tough new immigration law can claim a partial victory.

Hours before the law was set to take effect, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked key parts of the measure from being implemented. Those provisions are the ones that have drawn the most anger—requiring law-enforcement officials to check a person's immigration status when enforcing other laws and requiring that immigrants carry their documents at all times.

Arizona will begin Thursday at midnight enforcing the rest of the law designed to crack down on illegal immigrants. The measure has drawn howls of protest from civil libertarians and the Obama administration, lawsuits, and boycotts of the state. Despite the protests, or maybe in part because of them, Arizonans widely support the law, and Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican running for reelection, has been staunch in her defense of it.

The Obama administration sued, claiming Arizona’s law steps over the bounds of state power into the federal government’s responsibility to enforce national immigration rules.

State lawyers have argued the law is constitutionally sound and amounts to the state helping the federal government stem the tide of illegal immigrants. Arizona is the top gateway for illegal immigration into the United States.

Bolton, though, essentially agreed with the Obama administration's argument.

“There is a substantial likelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliens,” she wrote. “By enforcing this statute, Arizona would impose a ‘distinct, unusual and extraordinary’ burden on legal resident aliens that only the federal government has the authority to impose.”

She also struck down portions of the law that made it a crime for an undocumented alien to seek work or to work, and authorizing the warrantless arrest of someone where there is probable cause to believe the person has committed a "public offense" that would allow for deportation of the person.

Brewer as much as vowed to appeal the ruling in a statement issued after it was handed down.

“This fight is far from over,” Brewer said in a statement. “In fact, it is just the beginning, and at the end of what is certain to be a long legal struggle, Arizona will prevail in its right to protect our citizens. I am deeply grateful for the overwhelmingly support we have received from across our nation in our efforts to defend against the failures of the federal government.”

She said she and her legal counsel would look at every element of the law struck down by the judge, and take the state's argument to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. From there, the argument could easily land in the U.S. Supreme Court.

A Justice Department spokeswoman praised the ruling.

“We believe the court ruled correctly when it prevented key provisions of SB1070 from taking effect,” said Justice Department spokeswoman Hannah August in a statement. “While we understand the frustration of Arizonans with the broken immigration system, a patchwork of state and local policies would seriously disrupt federal immigration enforcement and would ultimately be counterproductive."

For more reaction, click here for reports from the Phoenix Business Journal.

And as the Wall Street Journal reports, the federal lawsuit isn't the only arrow in the administration's quiver. Arizona may be able to start enforcing its law, but only the federal government can actually deport illegal immigrants. So if immigration officials don't play ball, Arizona's jails may fill up with people it can't deport.

Bolton didn't throw out the the law, but blocked the controversial sections from being enforced Thursday to give the courts time to review the final status of the state law. Her ruling may soften some of the protests against the law, although at least one from the group CodePink is scheduled to go forward.

"Yes, even given the injunction on pieces of the law, all plans are still moving ahead because [critics of S.B. 1070] feel that the existence of the law is terrorizing their communities and really tearing the state apart," Fox News quoted CodePink national campaign coordinator as saying. "This is the beginning of the resistance."

Arizona legislators passed the law this spring requiring police to check the immigration status of people they stop, including asking for state- or federal-issued paperwork to ensure people are in the country legally.

Several cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, have voted to boycott Arizona businesses, viewing the law as targeting Hispanics. Surveys since the law’s passage, however, indicate a majority in the United States supports the move.

The law has also sparked fears among Arizona’s Hispanic business community that they would be targeted by overzealous police.

“I am not going to be forced to carry my passport within the boundaries of the United States of America,” said James Garcia, founder and artistic director of the New Carpa Theater Co. in Phoenix.

The police chiefs of Phoenix and Tuscon, the state's largest cities, opposed the law, arguing that it puts officers in a no-win situation.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the nation’s most famous immigrants, has poked fun at fellow Republicans in Arizona for their law. “I was also going to give a graduation speech in Arizona,” he said in May. “But, with my accent, I was afraid they would try to deport me.”

Mike Sunnucks of the Phoenix Business Journal contributed to this report.

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Kent Bernhard Jr. is News Editor of Portfolio.com