Thread: Court: Ala schools can’t check student immigration status; police can ask for suspect

Court: Ala schools can’t check student immigration status; police can ask for suspects’ papers

By Associated Press, Updated: Monday, August 20, 3:06 PMAP

ATLANTA — Part of Alabama’s immigration law that ordered public schools to check the citizenship status of new students was ruled unconstitutional Monday by a federal appeals court that also said police in that state and Georgia can demand papers from criminal suspects they have detained.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Alabama schools provision wrongly singles out children who are in the country illegally. Alabama was the only state that passed such a requirement and the 11th Circuit previously had blocked that part of the law from being enforced.

Both private groups and the Obama administration filed lawsuits to block the law considered the toughest in the country.

The court, however, upheld parts of immigration laws in Alabama and Georgia allowing law enforcement to check documents for people they stop.

The panel did leave in place part of the injunction blocking a section of the Georgia law that allows for the prosecution of certain individuals who knowingly harbor or transport an illegal immigrant during the commission of a crime.

The decisions follow a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding parts of a similar law in Arizona. The Atlanta-based court referenced that decision in its opinion to lift the injunction on the suspect verification section.

In a statement, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens said he was generally pleased with the ruling but disagreed with the court on the section dealing with transporting illegal immigrant still being blocked.
State Rep. Matt Ramsey, R-Peachtree City, sponsored the Georgia bill.
“Just as we were pleased when the US Supreme Court upheld one of the center pieces of the Arizona law ... we are pleased that the 11th Circuit has upheld a similar provision in our Georgia law,” Ramsey said.

Court: Ala schools can’t check student immigration status; police can ask for suspects’ papers - The Washington Post

Aug 20, 2012

U.S. court bans Ala. from checking kids' immigration status

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY
Updated 25m ago

A federal appeals court has ruled it is unconstitutional for Alabama to check the immigration status of school children when they enroll, or to require illegal immigrants to carry identification.

The 11 Circuit Court of Appeals did uphold provisions of the state immigration law that allow police to stop people they have a "reasonable suspicion" of being in the country unlawfully, and to ask about the immigration status of motorists without drivers' licenses.

But the court also struck down a provision that barred residents and businesses from entering into contracts with people who are in the state illegally, the Montgomery Advertiser says. The court ruled that the intent of the provision, known as Section 27 of the state's tough immigration law, was "forcing undocumented individuals out of Alabama."

"To say that section 27 is extraordinary and unprecedented would be an understatement," the court wrote in its ruling.

Regarding immigration checks for students, the court determined that such a requirement would cause "significant interference with the children's right to education" and therefore violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

The ACLU, which challenged the law, welcomed the ruling.

"The court today rejected many parts of Alabama and Georgia's anti-immigrant laws, including attempts to criminalize everyday interactions with undocumented immigrants and Alabama's callous attempt to deprive some children of their constitutional right to education, " said Omar Jadwat, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project. "The court explicitly left the door open to further challenges against the 'show me your papers' provision, which we will continue to fight in order to protect people's constitutional rights."

U.S. court bans Ala. from checking kids' immigration status