MattShizzle
5th June 2011, 04:30
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/us/04immig.html?_r=1
Not much of a surprise from one of the most reactionary states in the US, but still...
Alabama has passed a sweeping bill to crack down on illegal immigrants that both supporters and opponents call the toughest of its kind in the country, going well beyond a law Arizona passed last year that caused a furor there.
The measure was passed by large margins in the Alabama Senate and the House, both Republican-controlled, in votes on Thursday. Governor Robert Bentley, a Republican, is expected to sign the bill into law.
Alabama is now the new No. 1 state for immigration enforcement, said Kris Kobach, a constitutional lawyer who is secretary of state in Kansas. He has helped write many state bills to curtail illegal immigration, including Alabamas.
This bill invites discrimination into every aspect of the lives of people in Alabama, said Cecillia Wang, director of the immigrants rights project of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has brought legal challenges against several state immigration-control laws. Calling Alabamas bill outrageous and blatantly unconstitutional, Ms. Wang said, We will take action if the governor signs it.
The Alabama bill includes a provision similar to one that stirred controversy in Arizona, authorizing state and local police officers to ask about the immigration status of anyone they stop based on a reasonable suspicion the person is an illegal immigrant. Federal courts have suspended most of that Arizona law.
Alabamas bill goes beyond Arizonas. It bars illegal immigrants from enrolling in any public college after high school. It obliges public schools to determine the immigration status of all students, requiring parents of foreign-born students to report the immigration status of their children.
The bill requires Alabamas public schools to publish figures on the number of immigrants both legal and illegal who are enrolled and on any costs associated with the education of illegal immigrant children.
The bill, known as H.B. 56, also makes it a crime to knowingly rent housing to an illegal immigrant. It bars businesses from taking tax deductions on wages paid to unauthorized immigrants.
This is a jobs-creation bill for Americans, said Representative Micky Hammon, a Republican who was a chief sponsor of the bill. We really want to prevent illegal immigrants from coming to Alabama and to prevent those who are here from putting down roots, he said.
Well, what do you expect from a state where the average number of teeth and the average IQ of its citizens are both in the single digits. This is also actually against the US constitution.
Not much of a surprise from one of the most reactionary states in the US, but still...
Alabama has passed a sweeping bill to crack down on illegal immigrants that both supporters and opponents call the toughest of its kind in the country, going well beyond a law Arizona passed last year that caused a furor there.
The measure was passed by large margins in the Alabama Senate and the House, both Republican-controlled, in votes on Thursday. Governor Robert Bentley, a Republican, is expected to sign the bill into law.
Alabama is now the new No. 1 state for immigration enforcement, said Kris Kobach, a constitutional lawyer who is secretary of state in Kansas. He has helped write many state bills to curtail illegal immigration, including Alabamas.
This bill invites discrimination into every aspect of the lives of people in Alabama, said Cecillia Wang, director of the immigrants rights project of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has brought legal challenges against several state immigration-control laws. Calling Alabamas bill outrageous and blatantly unconstitutional, Ms. Wang said, We will take action if the governor signs it.
The Alabama bill includes a provision similar to one that stirred controversy in Arizona, authorizing state and local police officers to ask about the immigration status of anyone they stop based on a reasonable suspicion the person is an illegal immigrant. Federal courts have suspended most of that Arizona law.
Alabamas bill goes beyond Arizonas. It bars illegal immigrants from enrolling in any public college after high school. It obliges public schools to determine the immigration status of all students, requiring parents of foreign-born students to report the immigration status of their children.
The bill requires Alabamas public schools to publish figures on the number of immigrants both legal and illegal who are enrolled and on any costs associated with the education of illegal immigrant children.
The bill, known as H.B. 56, also makes it a crime to knowingly rent housing to an illegal immigrant. It bars businesses from taking tax deductions on wages paid to unauthorized immigrants.
This is a jobs-creation bill for Americans, said Representative Micky Hammon, a Republican who was a chief sponsor of the bill. We really want to prevent illegal immigrants from coming to Alabama and to prevent those who are here from putting down roots, he said.
Well, what do you expect from a state where the average number of teeth and the average IQ of its citizens are both in the single digits. This is also actually against the US constitution.