Justice Dept. Takes Ala. Immigration Law To Appeals Court

The U.S. Justice Department has asked the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to block an Alabama law that allows officials to question people suspecting of residing in the United States illegally, the Associated Press reports.

The department alleges the policy "is highly likely to expose persons lawfully in the United States, including school children, to new difficulties in routine dealings," the news agency reports. A federal judge recently upheld portions of the law that allow officials to question people suspected of being in the state illegally and check the immigration status of school chidren.

Alabama's Hispanic population has grown 145 percent in the last decade, according to the AP, to about 185,600.