Gebe Martinez | gebe.martinez@seiu.org | 202-730-7152
Issued September 28, 2011
Justice Temporarily Denied in Alabama
Outlier Alabama Federal Court bucks the U.S. Constitution and Other Courts on Immigration Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal court went against judicial norm and avoided key constitutional questions when it refused to temporarily block a new Alabama immigration law scheduled to take effect this week. The ruling blocks provisions that would have harmed employers, businesses and landlords, yet denies public school students equal protections that are guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer Eliseo Medina issued the following statement:
By this court ruling, Alabama once again stands out as a symbol of injustice. If allowed to stand, people of color - particularly those of Latin American descent - can now be stopped by a law enforcement officer simply because of how they look, and be detained if they cannot prove U.S. citizenship on the spot.
"If this ruling is allowed to stand, educators will now be required to act as immigration enforcers and check the status of school children, a move that creates a separate class of school students and violates the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
"The Alabama law also interferes with the federal government's constitutional authority to set and enforce immigration law, but the judge ignored that, contrary to rulings by other federal courts in Arizona, Georgia, Utah and Indiana have recognized the principle of federal pre-emption.
"Remarkably, the provisions that were blocked favor businesses, employers and landlords. Under the ruling, undocumented immigrants can still look for work and they can accept transportation. Companies cannot be sued for dismissing legal workers and hiring undocumented immigrants, and businesses can claim tax deductions for wages paid to unauthorized workers.
"This temporary ruling is preposterous and shameful.
"SEIU, along with the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Immigration Law Center, the U.S. Department of Justice and others are challenging the Alabama law because it is illegal and it is a gross attack against basic civil rights and our core values as a nation. While the court stated we had no legal standing to challenge the immigration enforcement of school students, we beg to differ. We will continue standing up for the children, workers, and those seeking justice, and we will not stop challenging this law.
"The Alabama law and others like it have sprung up because Congress has failed to provide a fair and just immigration system. The ruling is a sober reminder that workers and the powerless will continue to be attacked until we all stand up, participate in the political process and demand justice.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in 1963 from the Birmingham jail: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Let us never forget his words."
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Updated Jul 15, 2015