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Georgia Immigration Law Under Discussion

The Justice Department is reviewing Georgia's strict new immigration regulations and is discussing it with law enforcement officials in the state, but it has not decided to press charges to block the statute like it has in four other states, according to U.S. Assistant Attorney General Tony West in a statement made on Tuesday. West stated that the Obama administration is filing suit to block a similar regulation in Alabama and that both its regulation and Georgia's statute are planned to fall under review by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Georgia at the end of this month.

"Certainly, many of the issues we would raise in a lawsuit against Georgia we are raising in a lawsuit against Alabama and are going to be heard by the 11th Circuit," West told journalists after talking in downtown Atlanta at a symposium on the constitutionality of state immigration regulations. For months, rivals of Georgia's immigration regulation, also known as House Bill 87, have called on the Obama administration to sue the measure like it has with other laws in states such as Alabama, Arizona, Utah, and South Carolina. They say the regulation is unconstitutional and divisive.

Justice Department officials have replied in recent months by stating they are still in discussion regarding Georgia's immigration law, which is partially modeled on Arizona's groundbreaking law. A federal judge in Georgia put portions of Georgia's regulation on hold in June following a court hearing brought by a set of civil and immigrant rights groups. Georgia is appealing to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

One of the areas that have been temporarily put off would allow law enforcement to investigate the immigration status of specific suspects and arrest those who have been determined to be in the United States unlawfully. An additional provision put on hold would penalize those who intentionally transport or harbor illegal immigrants.

"People are understandably frustrated with our broken immigration system, and many states are dealing with that frustration by turning toward a form of self-help by enacting these state measures," West said during a speech.