Alabama to settle court dispute over Immigration law

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - The state of Alabama has agreed to settle the remaining challenges over its toughest-in-the-nation crackdown against illegal immigration. The state and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a proposed settlement Tuesday that would end a federal lawsuit over the law, which has mostly been gutted by court rulings. ACLU lawyer Cecillia Wang says the state also is settling a suit filed by the Justice Department. The deal follows the Supreme Court's decision earlier this year rejecting Alabama's appeal to revive parts of the law, which supporters and opponents billed as the nation's toughest against illegal immigration. The state's Republican-controlled Legislature passed the law in 2011 and Gov. Robert Bentley signed it. Federal courts later blocked key sections, including a one-of-a-kind provision that public schools must check students' citizenship status.