A federal judge in Alabama upheld two major provisions of that state’s illegal immigration law that are nearly identical to key portions of SB1070 that were struck down.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Blackburn blocked some portions of HB56 in her ruling on Wednesday but upheld provisions making it a crime to not carry immigration papers and requiring law enforcement officers to check people’s immigration status if they have a reasonable suspicion that they’re in the country illegally.

The district court and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals both ruled against similar provisions in SB1070, which, like the Alabama law, was challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice.

While U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton ruled that Arizona’s provision was preempted by federal law because of the burden it would place on federal resources, Blackburn said it was consistent with federal laws and congressional intent giving states a role in enforcing immigration laws. In rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice’s arguments that the provision in the two laws would overtax federal resources and lead to the harassment of legal immigrants, Blackburn relied heavily on a dissenting opinion from the 9th Circuit Judge Carlos Bea on SB1070.

Blackburn noted that federal law states that Immigration and Customs Enforcement “shall respond” to state and local inquiries about a person’s immigration status, but said it does not require federal officials to act on the information.

“The plain language of this subsection (of the Immigration and Nationality Act) reveals that local officials have some inherent authority to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law, so long as the local official ‘cooperates’ with the federal government,” Blackburn wrote.

That provision in Alabama’s law, however, did include one significant difference from SB1070. Both laws require jail officials to check the immigration status of any alien who is arrested. But unlike SB1070, Alabama’s law requires jails to release any alien whose immigration status cannot be confirmed within 24 hours.

Bolton said that section of SB1070 could place an unnecessary burden on legal immigrants who are arrested because it could prolong their detentions if their immigration status can’t be determined quickly.

In her ruling on the provision making it a crime for an illegal immigrant to not have immigration papers, Blackburn agreed with Alabama that the law “does not create an independent, state-specific registration scheme, attempt to register anyone, or create registration requirements in addition to” the requirements established by federal law. Arizona’s attorneys unsuccessfully used a similar argument.

The judge also rejected DOJ’s argument that the immigration papers requirement conflicts with federal foreign policy.

Blackburn still enjoined several sections of Alabama’s law, including provisions:

-Making it a crime for an illegal immigrant to solicit work.

-Making it a crime to transport or harbor an illegal immigrant.

-Allowing discrimination lawsuits against companies that dismiss legal workers while hiring illegal ones.

-Forbidding businesses from getting tax deduction for the salaries of illegal workers.

-Prohibiting drivers from stopping along roads to hire workers.

Ironically, Blackburn blocked two provisions in the Alabama law that were not enjoined in SB1070. The Arizona law included a section making it a crime to transport or harbor illegal immigrants, and a section prohibiting the roadside solicitation of workers. Neither provision of SB1070 was blocked.

It is questionable whether the Alabama ruling will have any impact on the DOJ’s lawsuit against SB1070. Gov. Jan Brewer already petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the state’s appeal of the 9th Circuit’s ruling, making it more likely that the SB1070 case will ultimately determine the constitutionality of Alabama’s law.

Blackburn upheld another controversial provision in Alabama’s law that requires public schools to determine the immigration status of its students. The State Board of Education is required to compile the information and deliver a report to the Legislature.

That provision was not included in SB1070, but a bill placing similar requirements on schools was barely defeated in the Arizona Senate during the 2011 session. SB1407, which failed on a 16-14 vote, required the Arizona Department of Education to submit an annual report to the Legislature with information about the number of students in public schools who could not prove lawful residence in the United States.