School Provision in Alabama Immigration Law Forces Families to Move
An immigration law that has been called the toughest in the nation is facing legal challenges in Alabama, especially because of a provision requiring public schools to check the immigration status of their students.
pbs.org
Posted: 09.16.11


Young activists march across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York July 29, 2010 calling for a permanent repeal of Arizona's controversial immigration law. Alabama legislature passed a similiar bill that was supposed to take effect this month.

As with a hotly-debated immigration law passed in Arizona, law enforcement officials in Alabama would be required to stop anyone they deem suspicious and check their immigration status.

However, the Alabama bill goes further by banning illegal immigrants from attending state colleges, making it illegal to harbor or help undocumented immigrants and requiring public schools to report undocumented students.

Already, reports from around the state suggest that undocumented families planned to leave the state before school started.

The bill’s co-author, Alabama state representative Micky Hammon, a Republican, argues that the law is a “job-creation bill for Americansâ€