A federal judge today partially rejected the federal government’s request to block Alabama’s strict new immigration law.
At issue is a law considered the nation’s toughest on illegal immigrants. It makes it a crime in Alabama for an illegal resident to apply for a job; it requires public schools to check the immigration status of students, and it authorizes state police in certain instances to verify the immigration status of people detained or arrested.
The Justice Department filed suit, claiming the law is unconstitutional on the grounds it allegedly usurps federal authority over immigration.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn of Alabama upheld key sections of the Alabama law concluding that they are not preempted by federal law.
Blackburn let stand the provisions authorizing local police to inquire about detainees’ immigration status and requiring public schools to verify students’ immigration status. (Click here to read the judge’s ruling.)
But the judge did enjoin other sections of the law, ruling that “there is a substantial likelihood” that the Justice Department can establish that the sections are preempted by federal law.
Blackburn, for example, blocked regulations that make it a crime for illegal residents to apply for a job and that make it unlawful for people to “conceal, harbor or shield” an illegal resident.
