Court Blocks Part of Alabama’s Strict Immigration Law
Schools won't be able to check the status of students, but other controversial provisions remain in place.
| Posted Friday, Oct. 14, 2011, at 4:10 PM
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.
A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked several provisions of a controversial Alabama immigration law that is widely considered one of the strictest in the nation.
The Associated Press reports that under the ruling, Alabama schools will no longer be able to check the immigration status of students in public schools. Police, however, will still be able to question individuals they suspect of being illegal immigrants and to detain them without bond.
The 11th Circuit’s ruling also blocks a part of the law that allowed police to charge immigrants who do not carry documentation proving their legal status.
The temporary ruling will remain in effect until a judge rules on the larger constitutional questions of the case, something that could happen as early as December, according to CNN.
The Obama administration asked the court to step in last week, arguing that the law encourages discrimination and subjects state residents to unwarranted scrutiny from local officials.
In the wake of the ruling, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange issued a statement disagreeing with the judge's decision. But he said that officials "are pleased that the court has allowed the state to proceed enforcing some of the act's central provisions" and promised "to vigorously defend the law as we proceed through the appeals process."
