Commission will study state's illegal immigration problem
Posted by Bob Lowry September 05, 2007 2:27 PM

MONTGOMERY -- A 21-member state commission was organized Wednesday to study the state's illegal immigration problem and make recommendations to the Legislature in 2008.

"The bottom line is, we're trying to figure out what is a safe, enforceable, logical immigration policy that fits the needs of Alabama," said Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale.

Beason sponsored the legislation that created the Joint Interim Patriotic Immigration Commission.

"What happened over the last couple of years was we had multiple bills introduced in the Legislature and it became apparent we didn't have a cohesive plan to deal with illegal immigration," he said. "It was kind of a shotgun effect."

Beason said the commission plans to schedule public hearings in Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Dothan, and possibly a rural area being affected hardest by undocumented workers.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2007/09/com ... tes_i.html