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New legislation on immigration has been approved in Alabama. Portions of the law have already been stopped, however. Working through the constitutional and legal problems, however, could take years to fully deal with in court. Source of article: Portions of Alabama immigration law blocked by injunction

Parts of Alabama law blocked

The Alabama immigration law is very extensive. It says exactly how both school registration and even police powers should act. The 16-page decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta stops some, but not all portions of the regulation. Some of the law will still be enforced, but some provisions won't, including:

• Require police to try and determine immigration status of anyone that is "lawfully" stopped or arrested for any reason.
• Make any business transaction a felony crime if it includes an illegal immigrant.
• Prevents courts from upholding a contract of any kind if it includes an illegal immigrant.

Other parts of the immigration law, however, have been blocked from enforcement until the law as a whole could be considered by higher courts. These provisions contain ones that:

• Require public educational institutions to check the immigration status of all students.
• Require immigrants to carry their alien registration card or be charged with a felony

Filing lawsuit

The lawsuit upon which the circuit court granted the injunction is just one of several that have been filed against the Alabama immigration regulation. The U.S. Justice Department filed a suit. So did many church groups and the American Civil Liberties Union. All of the suits say the same thing. They basically argue that since it is the Federal government’s responsibility to enforce immigration laws, the state of Alabama can't enforce any immigration. The state states that it is simply helping the federal regulation. It is enforcing rules already made. The law’s first hearings will happen in just a couple of months. In Dec. 2011, the hearings will start.

Immigration law in Alabama

The Alabama immigration law started already. Ever since, the economy has gotten a little bit worse. Employees have been doing many “sick-outs” by walking off the job altogether which has brought on industries to shut down. Lots of kids have stopped showing up at schools. Since farmers in the state cannot find workers anymore, it might be impossible to harvest all of the crops.

Information from

CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/14/us/alabama-immigration-law/index.html?npt=NP1

Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/14/us-usa-immigration-alabama-idU...

Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-14/court-delays-enforcement-of-...

The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/14/alabama-immigration-law-fami...

PBS: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec11/alimmigration_10-13.html