MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A coalition of Alabama civil rights groups asked a federal judge on Thursday to block a tough new state law cracking down on illegal immigration from taking effect Sept. 1.
The motion was filed Thursday in federal court in Huntsville, Ala., by the same groups that already have filed a suit challenging the law. Opponents and supporters say the law is the toughest of its kind in the nation.
The latest motion calls the law blatantly unconstitutional and asks U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn to stop it before it harms Alabama residents.
The law allows police to detain people they suspect of being illegal immigrants after a traffic stop, requires schools to report the immigration status of students, and makes it illegal to knowingly transport or give shelter to an illegal immigrant.
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