Judge Postpones Immigration Lawsuit Ruling

U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash heard arguments Monday from civil liberties groups seeking to block the Georgia illegal immigration law and from state lawyers who want the lawsuit dismissed. After the hearing, Thrash said he needs more time to consider the arguments, reports Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Georgia's new statute would allow the police to check the immigration status of some criminal suspects, and would also penalize anyone who knowingly transports or harbors illegal immigrants.

Civil rights groups argued the state can only assist the federal government with immigration upon request and that the law is unconstitutional.

Lawyers for the state argued that police won’t arrest suspects under the new statute unless they’ve already violated another law. The statute reflects federal immigration law and therefore isn’t unconstitutional.

According to Georgia Public Broadcasting, American Civil Liberties Union attorney Omar Jadwat said after the hearing, "I think the intent of the law is to overrule the federal government and to decide that anyone who Georgia decides is an illegal immigrant is not just someone who should be subject to detention by the state but also someone that everyone else should be afraid to interact with, and that's not how federal immigration law works.”

Judge Thrash said he plans to issue a ruling before the law takes effect on July 1.