Yesterday at the Hugo Black Courthouse in Birmingham, Judge Sharon Blackburn ruled on three separate lawsuits in a consolidated appeal that challenged Alabama’s controversial immigration law.

Blackburn upheld the majority of the law, including provisions that police officers be given the authority and task to check the citizenship status of those that, according to the Alabama House of Representatives, “they suspect is an unauthorized alien of this country.” Blackburn also upheld provisions that mandate that public schools do citizenship checks on all new students.

Shortly after the ruling, Gov. Robert Bentley tweeted, “Judge Blackburn upheld most of the law & temporarily enjoined only 4 sections. We now have the strongest immigration laws in the USA.”

“Today is a victory for Alabama,” Bentley said in an official statement. “The court agreed with us on a majority of the provisions that were challenged.”

Blackburn upheld the majority of provisions in the law, giving police officers the authority and task to check the citizenship status of those suspected to be unauthorized aliens of this country.

“During my campaign, I promised a tough law against illegal immigration, and we now have one,” Bentley said. “The law that the Alabama Legislature passed and I signed is constitutional.”

Despite Bentley’s celebratory attitude, Blackburn did temporarily suspend some parts of the law. She temporarily suspended the measure that would have made it criminal to aid an illegal immigrant in ways such as transporting them in a vehicle or allowing them to apply for a job.

“This legislation has reacted in a knee-jerk way to a complex issue,” said University of Alabama law professor Susan Hamill. “When the chief of Tuscaloosa Police is worried about enforcing the law, there’s a problem.”

According to the official court decision, the various plaintiffs were “seeking declaratory and injunctive relief contending that H.B. 56 violates a number of rights guaranteed under the United States Constitution.”

Going forward, Hamill foresees a long process.

“Both sides will probably appeal,” she said. “They both won and lost something, although it sounds like the plaintiffs lost more than they won.”

The growing legal consensus is that on appeal, the Supreme Court of the United States will settle the matter and rule whether the law violates the U.S. constitution.