A federal judge has refused to block Alabama’s strict new immigration law while the Obama administration appeals a ruling last week that upholds major portions of it. Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn of United States District Court had upheld provisions allowing the police to ask for immigration papers during routine traffic stops and requiring schools to learn the immigration status of students when they register, as well as making most contracts with illegal immigrants unenforceable. The Obama administration and other groups oppose the law, and the administration sought to block enforcement during appeals. Judge Blackburn said that the Justice Department had not shown that the government was “likely to prevail” on appeal, a standard for issuing a stay. Read more from The New York Times