Appeals Court Clears Georgia's Immigration Check Law

Papers, please!

State and local police could soon start enforcing one of the most controversial parts of Georgia's illegal immigration law now that a federal appeals court in Atlanta has issued a ruling in a related legal case.

At issue is a provision — nicknamed the "show-me-your-papers" law — that would give police the option to investigate the immigration status of suspects they believe have committed state or federal crimes and who cannot provide identification or other information that could help police identify them. It also would empower police to detain people determined to be in the country illegally and take them to jail.