· Border Crossing Law Firm · By Shahid Haque · From the Border Crossing Law Firm media archive.
MIJA announces the first hearing in its LR-121 challenge, where the state would have to show why the court should not block enforcement while the lawsuit proceeded. The plaintiffs included the union representing affected public employees and a U.S. citizen likely to be misclassified by the law.
The February 2013 hearing was the first opportunity to move the case from written allegations to evidence about how the referendum would affect actual Montana residents.
We have some exciting news: Judge Sherlock has ordered the government Defendants to appear on February 7, 2013 at 10:00 am to "show cause why Plaintiffs' application for a preliminary injunction should not be granted."
As we previously reported, on December 7, 2012 the Montana Immigrant Justice Alliance ("MIJA") filed a lawsuit in Montana's First Judicial District Court to challenge and enjoin implementation of LR-121 , along with our co-Plaintiffs MEA-MFT and Alisha Blair (a U.S. citizen who would likely be wrongly denied services under the law). We are challenging the constitutionality of LR-121 because it violates the rights of all Montana residents , not just undocumented immigrants.We are seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the law from being put into effect while this litigation is pending, and are looking forward to our first hearing in this case.
Please check out our LR-121 litigation page explaining what LR-121 is, why we filed a lawsuit to challenge the law, and how the law impacts all Montanans.