It seems that the birmingham times is firmly in the corner of illegals. It was far too convenient that the Birmingham times was on hand at 8:30 on a Sunday morning to cover the protest at the church that Sen Beason attends.

State of Alabama to court: No need to stay immigration law pending appeal; federal judge got it right

Published: Monday, October 03, 2011, 8:53 AM Updated: Monday, October 03, 2011, 11:02 AM


BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Attorneys for the State of Alabama argue in a new filing that there is no reason to stay the state's immigration law pending an appeal, since U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn got it right last week.

The filing this morning is in response to a request for a stay by a group of 36 plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit to block the law in July.

The plaintiffs are seeking to block provisions in the law upheld by Blackburn which give police the power to investigate a person's immigration status during a traffic stop or arrest; requires people to carry proof of valid immigration status; bar entering most contracts with illegal immigrants; requires schools to collect immigration status information about students at enrollment and bars state and local governments from conducting "business transactions" with illegal immigrants.

The plaintiffs include civil rights and service organizations, unions, families and individuals, including 12 illegal immigrants. They've argued they will suffer a variety of injuries if the law is allowed to remain in effect.

In a filing Sunday, the plaintiffs listed some of the problems they contend are already occurring:

- "In a least one public elementary school in Montgomery on Sept. 30 teachers asked already enrolled Latino students questions about their immigration status and that of their parents."

- "In the two business days that (the law's school provision) has been in effect, has already resulted in substantial numbers of currently enrolled children withdrawing from Alabama public schools and of others staying home based on their fear that they would be subject to the new verification and recording requirements."

The Huntsville City Schools saw 207 Hispanic students absent on Thursday. After Superintendent Casey Wardynski went on Spanish-language TV Thursday evening and said in Spanish "our students need not be afraid." The system also did a robo-call in Spanish to encourage students to return, the number of abasences declined on Friday to 127.

- The Montgomery Probate Office has published a notice requiring proof of U.S. citizenship or proof that a person is lawfully in the U.S. before any transaction can be conducted, except for corporations, LLCs or LLPs.

- On Sept. 29, Alabama Power told at least one family whose electricity had been disconnected that it could not restore power unless they could provide proof of lawful residence in the U.S.

- At least some individuals are being told they cannot renew rental agreements if they cannot provide provide of residence.

The state argued that Blackburn, last week, determined those laws were not unconstitutional in rejecting the plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction. The state argued the plaintiffs have used the same failed arguments in seeking a stay while the case is appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

A group of about 80 people protested the immigration law Sunday at state Sen. Scott Beason's church in Gardendale.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/sta ... _no_n.html