Alabama Senate expected to take up immigration changes
Alabama Senate expected to take up immigration changes
9:18 AM, May. 16, 2012 |
Written by Dave Martin)
Associated Press
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Opponents of Alabama's immigration bill watch the House action from the viewing balcony during the lawmakers session at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala., Thursday, April 19, 2012. The bill was the first issue on the House's work agenda for the day. The bill makes changes to the law that supporters and opponents have called the toughest crackdown on illegal immigration in the nation. The bill is being pushed by the Republican leadership in the House and Senate. It is mostly opposed by Democrats. Opponents say the new bill doesn't go far enough to address inequities in the immigration law, which they say encourages racial profiling by police officers. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
on law, which they say encourages racial profiling by police officers.
MONTGOMERY — As the Alabama Legislature's regular session draws to a close, the Senate is expected to take up a measure to tweak the state's toughest-in-the-nation immigration law.
The House passed the changes on April 19. They include clarifying that the law won't prevent religious groups from providing charity to illegal immigrants. They also stop schools from asking for the immigration status of students before they enroll.
Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale says he hopes to introduce a substitute bill making fewer changes than the House version.
Groups calling for the outright repeal of the immigration law plan multiple protests at the Statehouse throughout the day. They will culminate in a vigil at 7 p.m.
Alabama Senate expected to take up immigration changes | The Montgomery Advertiser | montgomeryadvertiser.com
Alabama Senate Considers Tweaks to Immigration Law
Alabama Senate Considers Tweaks to Immigration Law
Published May 16, 2012
Fox News Latino
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Rally against House Bill 56 at the Alabama Capitol and Children's March to the Governor's Mansion on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Montgomery Advertiser, Lloyd Gallman)
Alabama Immigration Farmer.jpg
Alabama employers say Latinos -- including legal immigrants -- are not showing up at their jobs because of the hostile environment they feel since an immigration law took effect. (AP)
The Alabama Senate may take up a measure to tweak the state's toughest-in-the-nation immigration law.
With the legislative session drawing to a close, the House passed the changes on April 19. They include clarifying that the law won't prevent religious groups from providing charity to undocumented immigrants. They also stop schools from asking for the immigration status of students before they enroll.
Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale says he hopes to introduce a substitute bill making fewer changes than the House version.
Part of the bill remain unenforceable due to lawsuits by the Obama administration and others, prompting Gov. Robert Bentley and other GOP leaders to support the proposed tweaking the law.
Groups calling for the law's outright repeal plan multiple protests at the Statehouse throughout the day. They will culminate in a vigil at 7 p.m.
Passed last year, the Alabama immigration bill has drawn criticism from the business community. Facing the possibility of labor shortages, some farmers are planting less this year rather than watch crops rot without getting picked.
"There's too much uncertainty," said Keith Dickie, who farms with his brother on a ridge called Straight Mountain, about 40 miles northeast of Birmingham.
Based on reporting by the Associated Press.
Read more: Alabama Senate Considers Tweaks to Immigration Law | Fox News Latino
Alabama legislature passes new immigration bill
Alabama legislature passes new immigration bill
From Joe Sutton and Gustavo Valdes, CNN
updated 9:46 PM EDT, Wed May 16, 2012
(CNN) -- Alabama lawmakers passed a new bill Wednesday aimed at improving the state's controversial immigration law, but critics said the new measure might make things worse.
Demonstrators protested outside the chambers of the Alabama state House and Senate. Seven of them were arrested, said Justin Cox, staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project.
The Southern Poverty Law Center's legal director was among those arrested, said Marion Steinfels, a representative of the organization.
Police could not be immediately reached for comment.
The center is one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against Alabama's immigration law.
The new immigration bill, known as HB 658, was approved by the state House and Senate Wednesday.
The state's governor will have the final say, with the power to sign the bill into law or veto it.
"We will conduct a final review of the legislation as passed and make a final decision from there," said Jeremy King, a spokesman for Gov. Robert Bentley. "Governor Bentley's goal is to emerge with an immigration bill that is simplified, clarified, more effective, and more enforceable."
Alabama Sen. Dick Brewbaker told CNN that the new bill addresses unintended consequences of the state's immigration law, including clarifying the types of documents that can serve as a form of official identification.
It does not address parts of the law that are at issue in federal courts, he said.
Critics say parts of the new measure would be even harsher than last year's immigration law, which is known as the toughest in the nation.
"The new bill preserves most of the law while adding several positions that make it even more dangerous," the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice said in a statement.
Cox, of the ACLU, said the biggest problem of the new bill was the requirement that the Alabama Department of Homeland Security post online the names of illegal immigrants that appear in state courts.
The coalition said that provision "amounts to a 'scarlet letter' provision likely to lead to harassment and vigilantism."
The new measure also includes a provision that allows someone to be detained for up to 48 hours while authorities determine their immigration status.
"Alabama took a step backward in approving this ill-conceived measure," said Olivia Turner, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama. "Lawmakers were deaf to the concerns of many residents, business owners and police who realize this law is a bad idea. Alabama will continue to pay a severe price for a law that is almost impossible to enforce properly and blatantly unconstitutional."
House lawmakers voted 68-37 in favor of the Senate's version of the bill Wednesday night.
Before the vote, several representatives appeared skeptical about the Senate version of the bill. House lawmakers approved a different version of the bill last month.
Rep. Napoleon Bracy Jr. criticized senators for the proposal, calling it "a totally different bill that no one has had a chance to read that's full of unintended consequences."
Other lawmakers worried that the measure would negatively affect the state's economy, and expressed concerns about racial profiling.
But lawmakers backing the bill said it protects the state's residents and helps its economy.
Alabama's existing law, known as HB 56, has several provisions, including one requiring police who make lawful traffic stops or arrests to try to determine the immigration status of anyone they suspect might be in the country illegally.
A federal appeals court has blocked some components, however, including one requiring Alabama officials to check the immigration status of children in public schools.
The Alabama law is one of a number of several state laws aiming to crack down on illegal immigration, and has become part of a nationwide skirmish between state federal officials over who controls immigration enforcement.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over Arizona's similar immigration measure. A ruling could come in late June, just before the justices recess for the summer.
