The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a stay on
parts of the Alabama immigration law and allowed others to stand. It stayed the provisions that required residents carry proof of lawful residency in the U.S. and that tracked the immigration status of newly enrolled students.
The court did not discuss the sections it did not block.
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 irreparable injury to the parties unless the injunction is granted; no substantial harm to other interested persons; no harm to the public interest.
There have reports from school systems across the state that Hispanic parents began withdrawing their children from school after a federal judge refused to block the school registration requirement.
The law required new students to show proof of citizenship or lawful immigration status at the time they enrolled. But schools were not allowed to deny students entry, if that information was not provided.
The other section that was blocked required people to carry proof they are in the U.S. legally. For "an alien unlawfully present" failure to comply was a misdemeanor that carried a $100 fine and up to 30 days in jail.
The Justice Department released this statement in response:
We are pleased that the Eleventh Circuit has blocked Alabama’s registration provisions which criminalized unlawful presence and chilled access to a public education. We 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.
A full appeal of the law is pending in the 11th Circuit.