JOEY KENNEDY: Move under way to repeal Alabama's mean immigration law, but will it succeed?
Poll @ link

By Joey Kennedy
The Birmingham News
Published: Monday, October 10, 2011, 5:45 AM

Give Alabama state Sen. Billy Beasley credit for courage. He's planning a bill to repeal the state's tough immigration law in the next session of the Legislature.

Thank goodness! We'll be rid of this monstrosity!

Of course not. While Beasley, a Democrat from Clayton, has the right intentions, the Legislature is controlled by Republicans who have done nothing but brag about how proud they are that Alabama has the toughest immigration law in the nation. They don't care if the law breaks up families, forces farmers to let their crops rot in the fields, makes it difficult to find construction workers to rebuild after the April 27 tornadoes, puts an extra burden on education officials and encourages profiling when people are stopped by law enforcement officers -- no, the important thing is that it's a really mean law, and they like that.

Beasley's effort has about as much chance to pass as a U.S. citizen of Hispanic decent has of not having to prove his citizenship when he's stopped by a police officer for speeding.

The best hope that the law will be jettisoned is if the federal courts toss it out. Most of the law was upheld by U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn, and now the case has shifted to the 11th U.S. Circuit of Appeals. No bets on that one. The 11th Circuit is probably the most conservative in the United States. So it'll surely take a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court before this is over -- and no bets there, either. That court is also very conservative.

The frightening truth is that Alabama could win this one all the way, even though there are better, more directed ways the state could target illegal immigration. Why not simply focus on the employers and the full use of E-Verify? E-Verify is in the state law, but the penalties for the businesses that hire undocumented workers are a wrist slap. No, instead, our law focuses on making it uncomfortable for undocumented immigrants to do everyday tasks, like get their electricity and water turned on, rent a house, send their U.S. citizen kids to school and even go to the store for groceries. What if they get stopped?

Maybe something will happen between now and the legislative session to convince most lawmakers they overreached with the immigration law. But this is Alabama. We won't hold our breath. We should, however, get used to showing our papers. Well, not me; I'm pretty white. But a whole class of Alabama citizens and residents -- those who are brown and speak more languages than we do -- will have to prove they shouldn't be harassed. Doesn't seem all that American to me.

What do you think? This week's Views poll wants to know if you agree with Beasley's effort to repeal the immigration law. Vote below and tell us why you voted as you did. The results and a selection of comments will be published in Sunday's Viewpoints section. Also, we can discuss this Tuesday during our weekly live chat.
--------------------------------

Do you agree with Beasley's effort to repeal the immigration law?

Yes: 23.7%

No: 76.3%

http://blog.al.com/jkennedy/2011/10/joe ... ay_to.html