Appeals court stops Alabama schools from checking students' immigration status

(CBS/AP) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A federal appeals court has blocked Alabama schools from checking on the citizenship status of new students. The provision was part of the state's tough new immigration law.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the provision wrongly singles out children who are in the country illegally.

According to CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen, Alabama is the only state that has attempted to check on the immigration status of its residents. The federal appeals court argued that citizens should have a constitutional right to be free from citizenship checks in schools.

While there may be an attempt to bring this case to the Supreme Court, Cohen believes the justices may not be interested in revisiting the immigration debate so soon after they made the decision over the Arizona case regarding S.B. 1070. S.B. 1070 -- the law that allowed a police officer to check a person's immigration status if they are stopped -- was kept in place, but three provisions were declared unconstitutional.

The appeals court separately says Alabama police can continue checking immigration documents for people they stop.

Both private groups and the Obama administration filed lawsuits to block the law considered the toughest in the country.

The 11th Circuit was the first appeals court to consider the school's provision.