( CNN ) -- Several prominent civil rights groups filed a class action lawsuit Friday challenging Alabama 's new anti-illegal immigration law , the latest such legal effort aimed at similar bills passed in various states . The suit claims the recently passed HB 56 `` endangers public safety , invites the racial profiling of Latinos , Asians and others who appear foreign to an officer , and interferes with federal law , '' according to a press release Friday sent by the Southern Poverty Law Center . That group allied with several other groups , including the American Civil Liberties Union , National Immigration Law Center , Asian Law Caucus and Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama . Their lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern Alabama . Mary Bauer , the Southern Poverty Law Center 's legal director , told CNN that she believed the law is `` radical '' -- even more so than similar bills enacted in Arizona and Georgia , for instance -- and sent a clear , unwelcoming message to immigrants . `` We hope the law never goes into effect , '' said Bauer . The Alabama legislation , known as HB 56 , was passed and signed by Gov . Robert Bentley last month and is set to take effect on September 1 . Bentley 's spokeswoman , Rebekah Mason , issued a statement Friday standing behind the bill . `` Gov . Bentley campaigned on the need for a strong immigration bill , '' said Mason . `` The legislature passed that bill , and the governor signed it . '' Suzanne Webb , a spokeswoman for Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange , said by e-mail Friday afternoon that her office had yet to get a copy of the complaint , and thus had no comment on the specifics . Regardless , she said the attorney general planned to defend the controversial measure . `` Under state law , acts of our legislature are presumed to be constitutional , and it is the duty of this office to defend them , and we will do so , '' said Webb . While immigration had long been a federal responsibility , other anti-illegal immigration measures have been passed in recent months in Arizona , Utah , Georgia , Indiana and South Carolina . Parts of those laws have been suspended in four of those states , pending resolutions to the lawsuits . Last month , a federal judge struck down a key part of the Georgia law in deciding police can not inquire about immigration status when questioning suspects in certain criminal investigations . Alabama 's law has a similar provision . According to a fact sheet presented by Alabama House Republicans , the bill requires law enforcement officers `` to attempt to determine the immigration status of a person who they suspect is an unauthorized alien of this country . '' The legislation also makes it a criminal offense to transport or house to an illegal immigrant . The state will have to check the citizenship of students , and any business that knowingly employs an illegal immigrant will be penalized . Republican state Rep. John Merrill told CNN in June that the legislation is `` good for Alabama '' because it will reduce illegal immigration to the state and `` provide equal opportunities for all people who want to come to Alabama legally . '' He rejected suggestions the law is discriminatory , saying he is confident it was drafted in such a way that it will survive legal challenges . But several civil rights advocates called the Alabama bill unconstitutional and unfair , vowing in the SPLC 's press release to fight it in court on a number of grounds . Sin Yen Ling , an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus , called it the `` harshest version '' of the laws that have followed Arizona 's pioneering measure . Among other aspects , the measure will `` turn teachers , landlords and community members into de facto immigration enforcement agents , '' claimed Linton Joaquin of the National Immigration Law Center . Olivia Turner , the executive director of the ACLU in Alabama , said the bill marks a big step backward for the state , which had been central in the civil rights movement . `` In the nearly 50 years since the historical and worldwide movement for civil and human rights began in our state , real progress has been made , '' said Turner . `` But this law threatens to pull us back to a dark and shameful past -- and one in which all Alabamians were held back . '' CNN 's Gustavo Valdes contributed to this report .
NEW : A spokeswoman for Alabama 's governor stands behind the legislation . The Southern Poverty Law Center , ACLU and other join in filing a lawsuit in federal court . The lawsuit claims that an anti-illegal immigrant law passed in Alabama is unconstitutional . Comment: