The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will hear arguments over Georgia’s and Alabama’s immigration enforcement laws today. Officials from both states call the laws necessary to protect jobs and taxpayer-funded resources since the federal government has failed to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and enforce existing immigration laws. Opponents of the illegal immigration crackdown, like the Obama administration, say the laws are divisive, unconstitutional, and interfere with the federal government’s authority.Two key parts of Georgia’s law will be at stake today when the three-judge panel holds its hearings. One of those provisions authorizes state and local police to investigate the immigration status of suspects and possibly detain those who cannot produce identification. The other provision makes it illegal to knowingly transport or harbor illegal immigrants while committing another crime (like human-trafficking).
Alabama’s similar law enforcement provision requiring police to investigate the immigration status of suspects under certain conditions is also at stake today along with a provision requiring public school officials to determine the immigration status of students in order to calculate financial costs.
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