Judge Blocks Parts of Georgia Immigration Law

A federal judge in Atlanta has blocked portions of Georgia's controversial new immigration law from going into effect while a lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality makes its way through the courts. The blocked sections of the law, which were scheduled to take effect on July 1, created penalties for those who knowingly transport or shelter illegal immigrants while committing another crime, and also authorized law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of individuals without the proper forms of identification. The judge ruled that the portions in question conflict with federal immigration law, which takes precedence over state law when the two disagree.