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ACLU Drops Suit Over Louisiana’s Immigration Interference Law After State Limits It to Conduct

The law remains in effect with criminal penalties, leaving unresolved whether alerting people to enforcement activity could be prosecuted.

Overview

  • A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order blocking Act 399 during Border Patrol’s sweep in the New Orleans area.
  • The Attorney General’s office told the court the statute does not cover pure First Amendment speech and is aimed at conduct, especially violent interference.
  • Following that clarification, the ACLU of Louisiana dismissed its lawsuit without prejudice on behalf of Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy.
  • ISLA paused its “Know Your Rights” workshops before the sweep but says the state’s filing allows those trainings to resume.
  • Act 399 expands obstruction to acts intended to hinder federal immigration enforcement, carrying up to one year in jail in some cases and up to $5,000 in fines, while officials declined to say if sharing agents’ locations would be a crime.