Montgomery, AL – About a dozen Alabama sheriffs met with the head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division, but say they still do not know whether the Obama administration will sue Alabama over its new immigration law.
Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin said assistant U.S. Attorney General Tony West listened to concerns about enforcing the immigration law that was passed in the 2011 Alabama legislative session.
Entrekin said the sheriffs asked that if the federal government is going to challenge the law, they'd like it to happen before they spend a lot of money on training to enforce it.
The new law gives local law enforcement agencies the right to detain suspected illegal immigrants.
Entrekin said since county jails are overcrowded now, a major question is who will house illegal immigrants.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)