For many Georgians who want the state to apprehend immigrants who entered the country illegally, it’s a matter of upholding the law, pure and simple. “I have to think of it in the aspect of the rule of law, and what is right and what is wrong,” Norcross activist Judy Craft said last month. “Illegal [...]

On Monday, a federal judge blocked portions of a Georgia law that would crack down on illegal immigration, at least until a legal challenge is fully resolved. In his ruling, the judge asserted that the role of enforcing immigration laws should be left to the federal government. The order was handed down by Judge Thomas [...]

American DREAMers might be able to rest a little easier following the quiet release of a memo from Obama’s immigration chief advising Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on prioritizing which undocumented immigrants to deport. Mother Jones’ Suzy Khimm has the story. Since taking office, Obama has prioritized the deportation of undocumented immigrants who have [...]

The original sponsor of Alabama’s new illegal immigration law said a federal judge’s Monday ruling blocking parts of similar law in Georgia indicates part of that state’s law “will remain in limbo until legal challenges are fully resolved.” House Majority Leader Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, sponsored Alabama’s illegal immigration bill. He said he is still confident [...]

Many new Georgia laws take effect this Friday, July 1, including the big illegal immigration statute, HB 87. Unless, in the case of the immigration law, a federal judge strikes down all or part of it before then. The questions U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash asked at a hearing last week suggest he’s inclined to [...]

I’m the first to acknowledge that among the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, many are hardworking, law-abiding members of our society. A very small percentage were brought here by their parents, and did not choose to break the law themselves. The media endlessly reports on these hard cases to implicitly — [...]

WASHINGTON — As a guide for law or legislation, the Southern Baptists’ new resolution on illegal immigrants is virtually useless. It’s vague, confusing and perhaps inherently contradictory. It wouldn’t help Congress pick its way through the political thickets associated with addressing the plight of the undocumented. Nevertheless, the Baptists have done something very useful: They [...]

Alabama’s new law requires public schools to report the number of illegal immigrant students to state officials. Putting children in the crossfire of a political battle is unacceptable. This month Alabama enacted the harshest anti-immigration legislation in the nation, surpassing even Arizona’s controversial efforts to drive out illegal immigrants. The new law requires police to [...]

ATLANTA, June 16 — The Anti-Defamation League and 11 Latin American countries added their voices to legal efforts to halt Georgia’s tough new crackdown on illegal immigration. The league and Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru joined the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center [...]

ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and other state officials asked a judge Tuesday to dismiss a federal lawsuit that seeks to block the state’s crackdown on illegal immigration, one day after another lawsuit was filed seeking federal government intervention against the new law. The earlier lawsuit, filed by civil liberties groups, asks a judge [...]