(Politico) — The Obama administration filed a challenge to Alabama’s tough new immigration law on Friday, asking a federal appeals court to block enforcement of the controversial measure.

The Dept. of Justice filed an emergency request with the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta to halt the law, the Associated Press reported. In its challenge, the Obama administration wrote that Alabama’s immigration law “is highly likely to expose persons lawfully in the United States, including school children, to new difficulties in routine dealings.”

A federal judge denied requests from the Obama administration and civil rights groups this week to block key provisions of the law while the Dept. of Justice appeals the ruling upholding the measure.

In response to the law — which requires schools to verify students’ immigration status and allows police to determine citizenship and status of those they stop, detain or arrest — thousands of Hispanic students and workers have stayed home since enforcement began.

The DoJ appeal said that provisions in the measure conflict with federal law and “attempts to drive aliens ‘off the grid’ will only impede the removal process established by federal law,” the AP reported.