By Elaine Donnelly
Extending sexual misconduct to combat units
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Alabama law enforcement officers were OK'd to check the immigration status of suspected illegals.
A federal district judge halted Alabama's tough new immigration law Monday just days before it was to take effect, making it the latest state to see a crackdown law blocked by a court.
A federal judge in Birmingham is poised to hear arguments from the Obama administration and others Wednesday over whether a new Alabama immigration law constitutes an unfair assault on civil liberties or is a long-overdue effort to protect American jobs and borders.
Lawyers for the federal government and for a coalition of civil rights groups asked a federal judge Wednesday to block a new Alabama law cracking down on illegal immigration, arguing that it abridges basic rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom to travel.
"I very much want to look at the pre-emptive issues," said Judge Blackburn, a 1991 appointee of President George H.W. Bush.
Judge Blackburn told Southern Poverty Law Center lawyer Sam Brooke that she was leaning toward accepting arguments that some parts of the Alabama law pre-empt the authority of the federal government.
