|
Alabama draws out-of-state
visitors to Gulf Coast beaches, to Alabama parks, and to Alabama
tourist attractions such as Huntsville's Space Center.
Alabama tourism, while
perhaps not vital to the state's economy, is important.
Out-of-state visitors
to Alabama, spending money in Alabama, may support a new ugliness
in Alabama. Consider visiting elsewhere if you are concerned about
the outrageous right-wing actions directed at immigrants.
Alabama's Repbulicans
have demonstrated they are no different from Arizona's anti-immigrant
Republicans--and possibly worse..
|
Alabama Republicans:
Self-professed Christians abandoning Christian values
|
|
|
June 9, 2011:
Alabama governor signs anti-immigrant
bill.
This
is what the Southern Poverty Law Center says about it:
“I think
one of the sponsors of the bill summed up it best when
he said: ‘This is the Arizona law with an Alabama twist.’
It is everything that was included in Arizona’s SB 1070
— including everything that was enjoined by the courts
when they evaluated that bill. The twist is a provision
in the Alabama law that requires schools to determine
and verify immigration status of any student who is
enrolling and any parent of students who are enrolling.
The bill’s backers are saying that this is constitutional
because they are not turning people away from schools.
The schools are not supposed to turn people away, but
they are required to collect this data and to report
it to the Legislature. This is clearly in violation
of existing Supreme Court precedent, because it will
in fact have a chilling effect on immigrant children
enrolling in school. “
There’s also
a prohibition on renting in the law. It is a crime for
a landlord to rent an apartment if they knew or should
have known that the tenant is undocumented. Also under
the law, if a person enters into a contract with someone
who they know to be an undocumented immigrant, that
contract is unenforceable in the state courts.”
|
|
The radical bill:
- Requires police who
pull somebody over to request proof of citizenship ( if the policeman
suspects they are here illegally).
- Requires people be
jailed, and remain jailed, until their legal citizenship status
can be verified.
- Requires employers
use the federal government's E-Verify system (odd, coming from
Republicans who hate "big government").
- Cite people in the
state illegally for trespassing.
- Withhold state services
from those here illegally.
Alabama, of course, has
a long history of racism.
Republicans have refused
to allow Congress to undertake any bill which addresses the issue
of the millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Instead,
they seem to prefer enacting their own "get tough" laws
which result in racial profiling, which result in victimization
of undocumented immgrants (and they can't go to the police to report
crimes), and which are fundamentally mean-spirited and, in the opinon
of many, racist. Even legal immigrants become afraid of the police.
This is a country comprised
of immigrants.
Laws like Arizona's (and possibly Alabama's) are repulsive.
Stop the hate.
This could be what inspired
Alabama's Republicans to act. Hispanics comprise about 3% of Alabama's
population. But
the number is increasing:
|
“When the Census Bureau released the new estimates
for the year 2009, it also revised the previous years’
estimates of Alabama’s Hispanic presence upward by thousands.
The estimate of the number of Hispanic persons in Alabama
for 2009 is 152,516, up from the estimate of one year
ago of 134,810.”
|
|
|
April 20, 2011
Alabama
senate passes bill:
"This bill is about job
creation to ensure that Alabamians who want a job will get a job
and won't be denied in lieu of an illegal immigrant or fired to
hire an illegal immigrant," said bill sponsor, Republican Senator
Scott Beason.
The bill extends into housing issues, requiring landlords to refuse
rentals or even evict people who are found to be illegal immigrants.
"Lots of people will be instantly homeless because landlords who
rent to illegals will become felons," said Helen Rivas, a civil
rights advocate.
Rights groups are concerned
that it would lead to racial profiling in the state, which has a
long history of civil rights violations, and infringe the federal
government's duty to enforce immigration laws.
Under the bill, the children
of illegal immigrants could be restricted from participating in
extracurricular activities at school and from benefiting from in-state
college tuition.
They would also be banned
from extra-curricular activities -- no prom, no football, no drama
club.
AND: The bill makes it
illegal to give a ride to an undocumented immigrant! (Read
more.)
|
