TRAC Report Finds Immigration Court Backlog Up to 85% from Five Years Ago
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reports that the immigration court backlog, which has risen 5.9% since September 2012, is now 85% higher than it was five years ago. By the end of FY2013, 344,230 were awaiting resolution before the Immigration Courts.
For a visual representation of these backlogs, visit: http://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/apprep_backlog.php
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Much of Alabama’s Far-reaching Immigration Law Permanently Blocked in Final Settlement of Lawsuits
AL.com reports that several provisions of HB56, Alabama’s tough immigration law, have been permanently blocked following a settlement with The Justice Department. The law was passed in 2011 and was referred to by Governor Robert Bentley as the strongest immigration policy in the country. HB56 barred and criminalized contracts with illegal immigrants, required new students to provide immigration information for public school enrollment, barred illegal immigrants from transactions with governments, required the carrying of proof of lawful immigration status, barred illegal immigrants from seeking jobs and allowed law enforcement officers to check immigration status of people during routine traffic stops and other law enforcement contact, and barred the harboring, transporting and encouraging of illegal immigrants to stay or live in Alabama. It also allowed law enforcement to hold suspected illegal immigrants without bond. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit arguing that the Alabama law usurped the federal government’s authority to regulate immigration and that several provisions in the law were unconstitutional. Opponents of the law also argued that it distracted law enforcement officers from “dangerous criminal” immigrants.
Officers can still check immigration status during a traffic stop (but only for as long as it takes to handle the reason for the stop), and businesses are still required to check immigration status for new hires using the E-Verify system.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn signed the settlement on November 25, 2013.
The state of Alabama has agreed to pay $350,000 in legal fees and expenses for groups that sued to block the law.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/29/us/alabama-immigration-law-settlement/
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/11/final_settlement_reached_block.html
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