The good news for religious groups opposing Alabama's harsh new immigration law is that in a lengthy hearing today, federal judge Sharon Blackburn sounded skeptical of the bill, saying it has "a lot of problems," according to reports.
Judge Blackburn acknowledged that the language in the bill as written is unclear on details regarding the process of demanding documentation at police stops and whether state schools have the right to demand the birth certificates of parents. She suggested Alabama lawmakers should have taken longer to define exactly how some procedures would happen under the law.
The bad news for them is that she did not sound inclined to accept their religious freedom arguments.
Augusta Dowd, attorney for the religious leaders, seemed to have the toughest day in court, receiving much of the more pointed questions from the judge. In wrapping up, Blackburn told Dowd that she didn't think the state statute violated the First Amendment rights of the bishops based on their claims. Dowd disagreed.
Judge Blackburn ended the day without announcing a decision on the effort by religious groups, the ACLU, and the Department of Justice, to halt enforcement of the law.
