Lawmaker says Immigration Law Responsible for Drop in Unemployment

whnt.com
Carson Clark Reporter

4:17 p.m. CST, November 18, 2011
Albertville, Al—

New numbers from the Alabama Department of Labor show that the unemployment rate in Marshall County has dropped two percent since summer. More specifically, says State Representative Kery Rich, Republican from Albertville, two percent since Governor Bentley signed the immigration reform bill.

"I don't think there is any question about it" Kerry says. "In June when we passed the law, the unemployment rate in Marshall County was 9.9 percent. And the figures that came out yesterday(Thursday) for Marshall County I think was 8.1. So it's almost a two percent drop."

Rich says the law, which went into effect in late September, has lead to illegal immigrants moving out of Marshall County. That in turn has lead to more jobs being availalbe for legal residents.

Rich also says the law, which is being challenged in Federal Court, has gotten a bad wrap, mainly from people who don't live in Alabama.

"If you live in one of these areas, like Albertville and Sand Mountain that has had to deal with this for a number of years then you have a good understanding of the problem," he says. "If you live in area that doesn't have a lot of illegals, and are not familiar with the problems that it causes then you tend to have a little sympothy for the other side."

Rich says he believes the law, if allowed to stay in effect, will continue to ease the unemployment rate. He says it will also save the state about a billion dollars a year in money that has been spent providing illegals with state services.

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