A federal judge in Alabama has temporarily blocked Alabama’s controversial immigration law, after the measure was challenged by the Obama administration. Under the new law, contracts held by undocumented immigrants would become null, police would be required to arrest anyone they suspect of being in the country without legal status, and public schools would be required to determine the immigration status of enrolled students. The law would also make it a crime to knowingly harbor or transport an undocumented immigrant. In an editorial published Monday, the New York Times described Alabama’s measure as “the country’s cruelest, most unforgiving immigration law.”