Appeals Court Issues Ruling On Alabama’s Immigration Law
ATLANTA, Ga. (WHNT) – An appeals court has issued a preliminary ruling on Alabama’s controversial immigration law.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the decision of the trial court, regarding whether to prevent sections of Alabama’s Immigration Law from being enforced by the state. The appeals court ruled the trial court should have stopped enforcement on all but three of the challenged sections.
Read the court’s ruling on the Alabama immigration law.
The court blocked a provision of Alabama’s immigration law requiring schools to determine the immigration status of school children at time of enrollment, saying it violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
The appeals court cited the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling about Arizona’s law in Monday’s decision. Like the Supreme Court, the appeals court found that law enforcement could question a suspect about their immigration status during a police stop.
Huntsville attorney Buck Watson represents one of several parties who sued the state of Alabama over the law. Watson called Monday’s ruling a split decision.
“It’s a mixed bag,” said Watson. “This 11th Circuit ruling was probably based upon the recent United States Supreme Court ruling on Arizona… My personal opinion is the whole law should have been ruled pre-empted.”
State Rep. Mike Ball (R) of Madison said lawmakers were still studying the ruling and what its potential impact would be.
“Right now I think we are in a wait-and-see mode,” said Ball, who has been a vocal advocate for the law. “We had the courage to attempt to address it, and we’ll just have to see how things shake out… I don’t think there will be a clear resolution for some time.”
Here are a variety of reactions to the 11th Circuit Court’s ruling on Monday:
- Governor Bentley’s reaction
- House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s reaction
- State Rep. Micky Hammon’s reaction
- Southern Poverty Law Center’s reaction
Also on Monday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the controversial section of Georgia’s 2011 illegal-immigration law that allows police to check papers of people held for various crimes.
