Latin American Herald Tribune: A U.S. district court judge temporarily blocked four of the most controversial portions of a harsh Alabama law against undocumented immigrants but left others standing, once again bringing proponents and foes of immigration reform into conflict.
As a result of the decision, Alabama state authorities will not be able to arrest undocumented immigrants for working or seeking employment, nor will they be able to arrest people who hide, transport or shelter undocumented foreigners.
HB 56, which criminalizes the presence of undocumented immigrants in Alabama, was the target of lawsuits by the Obama administration, as well as by civic and religious groups.
In her 115-page ruling, Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn prohibited the state government from enforcing four of the clauses contained in the law, enacted in June by Gov. Robert J. Bentley.
However, the judge did not issue any ruling about the constitutionality of HB 56, which – its detractors say – tramples on the civil rights of immigrants and interferes in a task that is the responsibility of the federal government.
Judge Blackburn left standing a clause that, in practice, transforms school administrators into immigration agents and another that demands that when police arrest people for infractions of any kind they ask for their papers if officers suspect them to be undocumented immigrants.
Immigrant defense groups expressed unease over the ruling and called for an increase in activism in favor of immigration reform.
The immigrant community should pressure the government “so that it finally displays the leadership and courage to – once and for all – fix our immigration system for everyone, and thus remove the (possibility) of measures like those in Alabama that criminalize immigrants,” Katherine Vargas, a spokesperson for the National Immigration Forum, told Efe.
Frank Sharry, the executive director of America’s Voice, said that this is “an outrageous ruling,” because laws such HB 56 will not solve the problem of illegal immigration, “they just make a bad system worse and pit groups against each other.”
“The federal government is in charge of immigration policy and it is the federal government’s job to fix what is broken,” he said. “The Alabama law plays to Americans’ worst fears rather than our best instincts.”
But Dan Stein, the president of the conservative Federation for American Immigration Reform, applauded the ruling because, in his judgment, it “offers relief to the residents of Alabama” and means that other states suffering from the cost of illegal immigration can take measures in the face of the inaction of the Obama administration.
The Alabama law was inspired by Arizona’s SB 1070, which is partially blocked in the courts.
Alabama is the fifth U.S. state to adopt laws to combat illegal immigration, given the lack of a route to legalization for the 11 million undocumented foreigners in the country.
As a result of the decision, Alabama state authorities will not be able to arrest undocumented immigrants for working or seeking employment, nor will they be able to arrest people who hide, transport or shelter undocumented foreigners.
HB 56, which criminalizes the presence of undocumented immigrants in Alabama, was the target of lawsuits by the Obama administration, as well as by civic and religious groups.
In her 115-page ruling, Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn prohibited the state government from enforcing four of the clauses contained in the law, enacted in June by Gov. Robert J. Bentley.
However, the judge did not issue any ruling about the constitutionality of HB 56, which – its detractors say – tramples on the civil rights of immigrants and interferes in a task that is the responsibility of the federal government.
Judge Blackburn left standing a clause that, in practice, transforms school administrators into immigration agents and another that demands that when police arrest people for infractions of any kind they ask for their papers if officers suspect them to be undocumented immigrants.
Immigrant defense groups expressed unease over the ruling and called for an increase in activism in favor of immigration reform.
The immigrant community should pressure the government “so that it finally displays the leadership and courage to – once and for all – fix our immigration system for everyone, and thus remove the (possibility) of measures like those in Alabama that criminalize immigrants,” Katherine Vargas, a spokesperson for the National Immigration Forum, told Efe.
Frank Sharry, the executive director of America’s Voice, said that this is “an outrageous ruling,” because laws such HB 56 will not solve the problem of illegal immigration, “they just make a bad system worse and pit groups against each other.”
“The federal government is in charge of immigration policy and it is the federal government’s job to fix what is broken,” he said. “The Alabama law plays to Americans’ worst fears rather than our best instincts.”
But Dan Stein, the president of the conservative Federation for American Immigration Reform, applauded the ruling because, in his judgment, it “offers relief to the residents of Alabama” and means that other states suffering from the cost of illegal immigration can take measures in the face of the inaction of the Obama administration.
The Alabama law was inspired by Arizona’s SB 1070, which is partially blocked in the courts.
Alabama is the fifth U.S. state to adopt laws to combat illegal immigration, given the lack of a route to legalization for the 11 million undocumented foreigners in the country.
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