From The Huntsville Times:
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley sAlabama Gov. Robert Bentley is flanked by Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, left, and Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, right, as he speaks before signing Alabama’s law cracking down on illegal immigration in June. (AP Photo, Mickey Welsh)
By Brian Lawson, The Huntsville Times
Published: Monday, October 10, 2011, 7:18 AM
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Through the years, Alabama has been pushed by the federal government, through the courts, to make changes to its laws.
But in the debate over the state’s immigration law, it may be Alabama that pulls federal law in a new direction.
The federal courts are still looking at immigration laws in Arizona, Georgia, Indiana and Utah. And South Carolina’s immigration law is set to go into effect Jan. 1.
The patchwork approach that the Justice Department has argued against in court filings seems to be gaining speed.
And the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn last month to leave in place key provisions of Alabama’s law, where similar measures had been blocked by other federal courts, certainly raises the stakes.
In court filings last week, the Justice Department said there is no room under federal law for a state to enact a separate immigration law enforcement system. Judge Blackburn rejected that argument in late September.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will take up requests this week to block Alabama law. (more…)
Filed under: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona-copycat laws, immigrant community, Law Enforcement, Migrant Workers, S.B. 20 | Tagged: 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Georgia, Gov. Robert Bentley, immigration law, Indiana, John Carroll, Kevin Johnson, Mark McDaniel, Micky Hammon, Mike Ball, Sharon Lovelace Blackburn, South Carolina, Supreme Court, Utah | Leave a Comment »
