A federal appellate court has blocked parts of a controversial immigration law that is being challenged by the Justice Department and civil rights groups.
The injunction, issued Friday by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, has forced Alabama to refrain from requiring immigrants to carry an alien registration card and public schools from being required to verify students’ immigration status until the appeal is heard.
The state will still be allowed to block undocumented immigrants from entering into a “business transaction” and will be permitted to stop, detain or arrest upon reasonable suspicion anyone “unlawfully present” in the state, according to CNN.
DOJ has argued that the law infringes upon the federal government’s right to formulate foreign policy, violates the civil rights of lawful immigrants, and wastes resources trying to track down undocumented immigrants who are not criminals or threats to national security.
