(AP) -- South Carolina has issued notice it plans to appeal a federal judge's ruling keeping most of the state's tough new immigration law from going into effect.
Attorney General Alan Wilson said in documents filed last week the state is appealing the decision to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said part of the 2011 law allowing police to check the immigration status of people they stop could take effect during a lawsuit. But he kept in place an injunction on most other parts of the law.
The federal government and the American Civil Liberties Union sued last year, challenging the constitutionality of South Carolina's law.
Modeled on similar legislation in Arizona, the law is considered among the toughest in the country.
(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
