Parts of Immigration Law Enjoined by Court Ruling

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal vowed Monday he would appeal a federal court ruling that blocked two key sections of Georgia’s new immigration law pending resolution of a legal challenge. 

“Gov. Deal is disappointed that the court enjoined two sections of Georgia’s immigration law,” said Brian Robinson, the governor’s deputy chief of staff for communications. “Curiously, the court writes ‘all illegal aliens will leave Georgia’ if the law is enforced, as if it is appalled at the thought of people attaining visas before coming to our nation."

"The federal court’s ruling, however, will crystallize for Georgians and other Americans our underlying problem: Beyond refusing to help with our state’s illegal immigration problem, the federal government is determined to be an obstacle. The state of Georgia narrowly tailored its immigration law to conform with existing federal law and court rulings. Georgians can rest assured that this battle doesn’t end here; we will appeal this decision,” Robinson said.

Only two of the 23 provisions of the law were enjoined by Judge Thomas Thrash's Monday (June 27) ruling. Blocked was the part that penalizes people who transport or harbor illegal immigrants as well as the part that authorize officers to verify the immigration status of someone who can't provide proper identification. Both of these provisions were set to go into effect July 1.  

Thrasher's ruling stated: "The enforcement of Sections 7 and 8 of H.B. 87 is preliminarily enjoined. State and local law enforcement officers and officials have no authorization to arrest, detain or prosecute anyone based upon Sections 7 and 8 of H.B. 87 while this injunction remains in effect."

Left intact was a provision that Georgia businesses and governmental entities use the federal E-Verify system to verify employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.

The Georgia General Assembly passed H.B. 87 "The Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011 on April 14. The American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of other civil rights groups asked the judge to block the law on June 8. They sought the  preliminary injunction on the basis that  H.B. 87 interferes with federal power, authorizes unreasonable seizures and arrests and restricts the constitutional right to travel freely. 

"This is definitely a victory for all Georgians who care about civil liberties," said Azadeh Shahshahani, National Security and Immigrant Rights Project Director at the Georgia ACLU, which sought the preliminary injunction from the court on behalf of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights. The request for the preliminary injunction followed the filing of a lawsuit June 2 challenging the law.

The American Civil Liberties Union considers Monday's ruling a victory because the core provisions of the law were blocked. Shahshahani said that the law's potential to penalize people who transport or harbor illegal immigrants is a "provision to penalize acts of charity and kindness." 

"This is going to bring a huge sense of relief for the immigrant community," she said. 

Implementation of similar laws passed by Arizona, Indiana and Utah have also been halted by federal courts.

(Editor's note: Patch Editors Laura Sullivan (Norcross), Sharon Swanepoel (Loganville-Grayson) and Faye Edmundson (Duluth) contributed to this article.