ATLANTA (AP) — A federal appeals court said it would not immediately decide whether to block the enforcement of Alabama’s tough new immigration law.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order came Friday after the federal government asked the court to block the law, considered one of the nation’s toughest.
The appeals court ordered Alabama and the government to file motions on the case next week, and said it would hold oral arguments on the dispute no earlier than Nov. 29.
Alabama’s law allows authorities to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally and lets officials check the immigration status of students in public schools.
Critics say the law has plunged the state into chaos. Alabama officials say it’s needed to protect the jobs of legal residents.
