The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the order after the Justice Department requested that the law be blocked until the court could consider it fully. Government lawyers contended, as they have when challenging similar laws in other states, that the legislation was preempted by federal immigration statutes.
The court upheld some parts of the law, such as the portion that makes any “business transaction” between the state and the immigrant – including the application for a driver’s license- a felony. The court also upheld provisions that make all employer contracts knowingly entered into with illegal immigrants invalid.
* For more information on the processing of this law, please read our previous blog posts regarding the Alabama immigration law.
