Thread: Ala. immigration law stands, but police still wary

Ala. immigration law stands, but police still wary

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The Associated Press
11:00 PM, Sep. 29, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The police chief of a small town in the Appalachian foothills of Alabama didn't know what to do about checking the immigration status of a Hispanic man his department recently arrested on an old warrant. So he didn't do anything.

Alabama's strict new immigration law, which was largely upheld Wednesday by a federal judge, requires police to jail anyone who can't prove he or she is in the country legally.

Much of the law goes into effect immediately, but that doesn't mean there will be mass roundups of thousands of illegal immigrants anytime soon. Across Alabama, police charged with enforcing the nation's toughest law targeting illegal immigrants are trying to figure out how to enforce the law and pay for it.

The police chief, Chris West, and his three officers patrol Crossville, a rural town of 1,300 people that adjoins a Hispanic community of hundreds and maybe more. The nearest jail is 20 miles away. The law is complicated and they have little money for training.

"Right now we're waiting to find out what's in the law, and then we're going to start enforcing it," he said.

The law is described by both supporters and opponents as the toughest state law in the U.S. targeting illegal immigrants. U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn, a Republican appointee, wrote in a 115-page opinion Wednesday that some parts of the GOP-backed law conflict with federal statutes, but others don't. Left standing were several key elements that help make the Alabama law stricter than similar laws passed in Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Georgia.

Among other things, Alabama's law requires public school officials to check the immigration status of students, though they can still attend. Authorities can hold suspected illegal immigrants without bond and state courts are barred from enforcing contracts involving illegal immigrants. It's a misdemeanor for illegal immigrants to not have immigration papers.

Now police are trying to make sense of what their officers should do when they pull over Hispanic motorists or patrol communities that are home to the estimated 185,000 Hispanic people now in the state.

"We just need to know what to do without getting everyone in trouble," said Boaz Police Chief Terry Davis, president of an association of 365 Alabama police chiefs. "We're all sort of confused right now."

In Coffee County, where poultry plants and the annual tomato harvest are magnets for immigrants seeking work, Sheriff David Sutton said holding suspected illegal immigrants could cause overcrowding in his 124-bed jail, particularly because no one knows how long it might take federal officers to pick up people for possible deportation.

"We are going to enforce the law. But we are not going to seek out and search out. I don't have the manpower for that," he said.

In Birmingham's Jefferson County, which is trying to avoid filing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, Chief Deputy Randy Christian said deputies can't begin arresting suspected illegal immigrants until they get training, which the county can't afford.

"I am more concerned on where we will put the ones we detain," Christian wrote in an email. "We have a jail built for 900 inmates that is already overcrowded and averaging 1,200 inmates a day. It's another unfunded mandate to a county struggling to keep its head above water."

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Now police are trying to make sense of what their officers should do when they pull over Hispanic motorists or patrol communities that are home to the estimated 185,000 Hispanic people now in the state.

"We just need to know what to do without getting everyone in trouble," said Boaz Police Chief Terry Davis, president of an association of 365 Alabama police chiefs. "We're all sort of confused right now."

Stop being "confused!" You ask ALL motorists for identification issued by the state of Alabama when they are stopped for legitimate police business. If they cannot produce a valid state of Alabama license, or other valid form of government issued identification (no, a matricular consular card issued by the mexican government does not count and in fact would give you probable cause to believe they might be in this country illegally) that would give you probable cause to move forward in your investigation as to why they cannot produce one. Not being able to speak English is a factor and you can consider that when conducting your investigation.

If during the course of your investigation you come to believe a valid identification cannot be produced because they might not be here legally, you can arrest and notify ICE.

This is NO different than any other investigation you might conduct on daily basis! These trained professionals are asked to identify illegal invaders and suddenly, they become "confused!' Sounds like we have a few police chiefs that have a sweet spot for illegal invaders in Alabama!

Stop making this more difficult than it really is!