Alabama Senate OKs bill to allow officers to detain suspected illegal immigrants

Published: Thursday, April 21, 2011, 6:10 PM
By Kim Chandler -- The Birmingham News The Birmingham News
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- The Alabama Senate this afternoon approved an Arizona-style immigration bill that would allow law enforcement officers to detain people they suspect of being in the country illegally.

Bill sponsor Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, said illegal immigrants working in the state take jobs from Alabamians. "That's thousands of jobs Alabamians could be holding," Beason said.

Beason said the bill will send a message that Alabama is willing to step in and address the problem of illegal immigration.

The bill makes it a crime to knowingly employ, harbor, rent to or even give an illegal immigrant a ride.

The bill would require police officers to verify a person's immigration status if they stop them for a traffic violation or other infraction and have a "reasonable suspicion" the person is in the United States unlawfully. Suspected illegal immigrants could be detained.

Critics of the bill argued it would lead to the harassment of people who may look or sound different.

"You are going to be out here profiling everyone," Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, said.

Beason defended the bill, saying an officer could stop a person only for a legitimate offense and not based on suspicions about a person's immigration status.

"It has every precaution in it to make sure people are not harassed. Very, very simple for law abiding citizens, I don't think their lives will change at all," Beason said.

Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, put an amendment on the bill to exempt religious organizations transporting people to and from religious functions. Bedford said Catholic churches and other churches had asked for the exemption.

"God does not decide if you are legal or illegal. He decides if you are saved or unsaved," Bedford said.

The House of Representatives already has passed a similar bill that has many of the same provisions.

However, there are some differences between the House and Senate bills. The House-passed bill requires businesses to use E-Verify, an Internet-based system to check the immigration status of workers. The Senate bill only requires the use of E-Verify by businesses that contract with or get grants from the state.

Beason said he didn't think it was fair to small businesses to mandate the use of E-Verify.

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