State Immigration Law – Alabama

Posted on September 30, 2011 by townsend

• Alabama life already changing under tough immigration law, By Patrik Jonsson, September 29, 2011, Christian Science Monitor: “Even before federal judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn upheld the toughest parts of Alabama’s groundbreaking immigration law Wednesday, daily life in Alabama had already begun to look – and feel – a little different. The state’s agriculture commissioner says some farmers are mourning squash rotting in the fields, after migrant workers either left or avoided the state, some in fear that their children would be used as deportation tools as schools next week begin checking the immigration status of incoming students. Two days before Judge Blackburn proffered her ruling, Alabama announced a new car-registration database called ALVerify, to head off fears of citizen revolts against long courthouse lines as residents prove their citizenship. And those working to rebuild the state from this spring’s massive tornado outbreak predicted delays under the expectation that Hispanic workers will be harder to find to lay roofs, build decks, and pour foundations…”
• Law doesn’t mark end of Alabama immigration battle, By Scott Neuman, September 29, 2011, National Public Radio: “Alabama’s toughest-in-the-nation law on illegal immigration went into effect Thursday, a day after a federal judge upheld some of its key provisions, but the court battle over the issue appears far from over. State law enforcement can now question and detain without bond people they suspect may be in the country illegally, and public schools are required to verify students’ immigration status. U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn on Wednesday upheld those and other key aspects of the law. The Justice Department, civil rights groups and some Alabama churches had sued to stop the measure from taking effect…”