Updated: Oct. 14, 2:35PM
A federal appeals court on Friday blocked parts of a controversial Alabama immigration law.
The provisions that were enjoined — section 10 and section 28 — make it a crime for illegal immigrants to not have proper documentation and also make Alabama schools track the immigration status of their students.
But the court did not stop Alabama from enforcing a provision of the law which allows officials to ask for identification during a normal stop if there’s “reasonable suspicion” the suspect is in the country illegally.
The appeals court also didn’t stop Alabama from enforcing section 18, which allows the state to detainee anyone who is arrested for driving without a license if they are found to be in the country illegally. Alabama is also still allowed to not enforce contracts with illegal immigrants, with limited exceptions.
Section 30, which makes it a felony for undocumented immigrants to engage in any “business transaction” with the state of Alabama, also was not enjoined by the court.
The Justice Department said in a statement that they were “pleased that the Eleventh Circuit has blocked Alabama’s registration provisions which criminalized unlawful presence and chilled access to a public education.” But they said they continue to believe “that the other key provisions we challenged are also preempted, and we look forward to the upcoming consideration by the court of appeals of the merits of the appeal.”
The development comes as a senior Justice Department official visits Alabama, where he said that the law was leading to dropouts and absenteeism in the state’s schools and that federal officials have gotten reports of bullying against Latino students.
U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance also said that federal officials had talked to people concerned about “vigilante enforcement of the law by private citizens.”
The filing is embedded below. Additional reporting by Brian Fung.
Alabama Immigration Law Appeal Ruling
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