August 21, 2012
Federal
Court Blocks Most of Georgia & Alabama's Anti-Immigrant Laws
A federal
appeals court today blocked key provisions of Alabama and Georgia's anti-immigrant
laws. Significantly, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit found that
section 28 of Alabama's law which requires the immigration verification of newly
enrolled K – 12 students, violates the Equal Protection Clause and could
interfere with children's constitutional right to education. The court also
blocked the registration and contracts provisions found in Alabama's law, HB 56.
In Georgia, the court determined that a section criminalizing transporting or
harboring of immigrants was not permissible.
In both Georgia and Alabama, the court
issued a narrow ruling allowing the "show me your papers" provisions of HB 56 and
HB 87 to remain in or go into effect, but leaving open the possibility of future
challenges on civil rights or due process grounds.
"We are pleased that this ruling has
sent a strong message to Alabama and other states that they cannot enact
hate-filled laws to try to drive an entire class of people from their borders,"
said Mary Bauer, legal director for the SPLC. "We are thrilled that students
returning to schools this week will return to safer and more welcoming
environments. We will continue to challenge the provisions left in place because,
as we have already seen in Alabama, these laws cannot be enforced without racial
profiling."
"Today's decisions should send a
strong message that state attempts to criminalize immigrants and their loved ones
will not be tolerated," said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the
National Immigration Law Center. "Alabamian children can now start the new school
year without fear that their citizenship will be questioned, and Georgians can
continue to give neighbors and friends a ride without first asking for their
"papers." Although we are disappointed that the racial profiling provisions of
Alabama and Georgia's law have not been blocked, we will continue to fight them
both within and outside the courtroom."
Omar Jadwat, senior staff attorney
with the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, said: "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. 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."
The coalition includes the Southern
Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration
Law Center, the ACLU of Georgia, MALDEF, the ACLU of Alabama, the Asian Law
Caucus, and the Asian American Justice Center.
