Part of Alabama Immigrant Law Blocked

[Walter Cronkite]

A federal appeals court in Atlanta temporarily blocked two provisions of Alabama’s far-reaching immigration enforcement law on Friday, but left much of it in effect as the state and the United States Justice Department continued to fight over the law in the courts.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued a preliminary injunction against a section of the law that requires schools to determine the immigration status of children who are enrolling, as well as the status of their parents. It also blocked a section making it a state crime for illegal immigrants not to carry registration documents.

The law, considered the toughest state immigration law in the nation, was signed by Gov. Robert Bentley in June, but it was challenged shortly thereafter in lawsuits by the Justice Department, a coalition of civil rights groups and others.

On Sept 28, a federal district judge in Alabama issued an injunction against several provisions but allowed most of the law to take effect while the challenges made their way through the courts.

The 11th Circuit court has expedited the appeals process and is scheduled to hear arguments within the next two months. The Justice Department asked for a stay of certain provisions pending the outcome of the appeal.

Among the sections of the law that the court let stand is one requiring the police to determine the immigration status of someone who has been arrested or pulled over in a traffic stop if “reasonable suspicion” exists that the person is in the country illegally. The court also declined to block a provision rendering most contracts with illegal immigrants unenforceable and a section making it a felony for an illegal immigrant to conduct a “business transaction,” like renewing a driver’s license, with any governmental body in the state.

The provision pertaining to schools applies only to children who are enrolling for the first time, not to anyone already enrolled in school, so the number of students actually affected by the new procedure would have been minimal. Nevertheless, in the two weeks that the provision was in effect, attendance figures varied widely, with absences among Hispanic students going as high as 5,300 and, on Thursday, back to around 1,200, which is near normal. School superintendents appeared on television and at meetings urging parents to keep their children in school and telling them that the provision would not apply to them or their children.

Shortly after Friday’s ruling was announced, the interim state superintendent, Larry E. Craven, issued a statement directing schools to stop trying to ascertain the country of birth during enrollment.

“Schools will revert to enrollment procedures in effect prior to September 29,” the statement read.

Source: NY Times

[syellieB]

Immigration regulation is surely a hot-button concern. Alabama is the most recent state to pass new legislation. While the law is being fought over in the courts, a federal court has put an injunction on parts of the law. The larger constitutional concerns of the law, however, could take months to deal with. Portions of Alabama immigration law blocked by injunction. The Alabama immigration law is an extensive document that covers everything from police powers to school registrations. The 16-page decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta blocks some, but not all portions of the law. Other portions of the immigration law, however, have been blocked from enforcement until the law as a whole can be considered by higher courts. It public educational institutions to check the immigration status of all students.

[syellieB]

Since the Alabama immigration law went into effect, economic activity in Alabama has significantly slowed. Many industries around Alabama have essentially shut down as many employees stage one-day “sick-outs” or are essentially walking off the job entirely. Absentee rates at many schools are significantly spiking and many Alabama farmers are facing fields full of crops they simply cannot find the employees to help harvest.