A coalition of immigrant groups and their supporters march across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York Thursday in protest against Arizona's hardline immigration law. (Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)

Arizona has filed an appeal to lift a judge's ruling that put on hold most of the state's controversial new immigration law, which went into effect Thursday.

Gov. Jan Brewer, who called Wednesday's decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton "a bump in the road," spurred the appeal.

Lawyers for Brewer are asking that the appeal be considered quickly.

In her temporary injunction, Bolton delayed the most contentious provisions of the law, including a section that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws.

She also barred enforcement of parts requiring immigrants to carry their papers and banned illegal immigrants from soliciting employment in public places. The judge also blocked officers from arresting suspected illegal immigrants without warrants.

It was a key first-round victory for the federal government in a fight that may go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Other provisions that were less contentious were allowed to take effect, including a section that bars cities in Arizona from disregarding federal immigration laws.

The 11th-hour ruling came just as police were preparing to begin enforcement of the law and opponents were set to stage protests.

Opponents of Arizona's new immigration law celebrate in Phoenix on Wednesday, hours after portions of the law were blocked by a federal judge. (Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press)

Opponents of the law said the ruling sends a strong message to 25 other states hoping to replicate the law.

"Surely it's going to make states pause and consider how they're drafting legislation and how it fits in a constitutional framework," Dennis Burke, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, told The Associated Press. "The proponents of this went into court saying there was no question that this was constitutional, and now you have a federal judge who's said, 'Hold on, there's major issues with this bill."'

Meanwhile, hundreds of opponents of the law went ahead with protests Thursday despite the ruling. About 50 people in Phoenix were arrested after peacefully confronting police officers in riot gear.

Outside the state legislature, hundreds of protesters began marching at dawn, gathering in front of the federal courthouse where Bolton issued her ruling.

They then marched on to the office of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has made a crackdown on illegal immigration one of his signature issues.