Court Blocks Alabama Schools from Checking Immigration Status

Reuters
Eric Randall 91 Views Oct 14, 2011

When a federal judge upheld most pieces of an Alabama immigration law in late September, the state saw an exodus of Hispanics and school officials reported large numbers of Hispanic students went absent. We're not sure this'll get them to come back to class, but today, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked some parts of the law while the court considers it, including a provision that requires schools to check the status of their students (that probably accounted for the school absences). It also blocked the piece of the legislation that makes it a crime for immigrants who don't have documentation. Al.com has posted the court's ruling. The site reports:

On the sections it did block, the court said the plaintiffs had met the four tests for an injunction, including: substantial likelihood they will prevail on the merits of the appeal; a substantial risk of irreperable injury to the parties unless the injunction is granted; no substantial harm to other interested persons; no harm to the public interest.

The court left in tact that provision that allows police to detain anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally, which is one of the main parts of the law that its critics say will lead to racial profiling. 

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