Alabama Immigration Law Passes Senate
A new law has passed the Alabama Senate. While it still needs to be reconciled with the House's measure, it is a clear indication that the state is moving towards implementing new immigration reform. The bill is similar to a controversial bill passed in Arizona last year. The Senate version of the bill provides local law enforcement with the ability to detain people who it suspects of being undocumented immigrants. It also puts in place new penalties for any business that hires illegal workers knowingly. The bill's sponsor is Republican Senator Scott Beason who believes that the bill will help to lower the state's 9.2 percent unemployment rate. He stated, "There are thousands and thousands of jobs Alabamians could hold if they were not displaced by this illegal workforce."

A Law Brought Together
The laws put in place by Beason are a conglomeration of laws from Arizona, Missouri and Oklahoma, though the Alabama version of the bill is not as strict as others, nor is it as strict as other Republicans wanted. However, the bill was put in place specifically to withstand pressure from the courts. He notes, "If it's struck down in a mouth, what does it do for you?" If the bill is passed, it will require police to verify the immigration status of any person who it stops for a traffic offence if they cannot product documents such as a passport or a driver's license. If the police officer believes the person is in fact an illegal, the person can be detained at that time. The law does not allow police to stop people at random to ask for immigration status. However, those who oppose the bill, including Senator Bobby Singleton says, that the bill will simply encourage racial profiling.

Opponents Fight the Bill
Not everyone believes that the bill is a good move for the state. According to Olivia Turner who is the directory of the ACLU in the state, the bill could lead to racial profiling. She also states it sends "a clear message to communities of color that the authorities are not to be trusted, making them less likely to come forward as victims of or witnesses to crime." However, those who are fighting the bill are not just politicians on the other side of the aisle. Rather, the biggest fight is coming from Republicans who want to remove specific language from the bill that gives the Department of Homeland Security the ability to hire police officers.

Different Bills
The bill passing the Senate is slightly different from the version approved by the House. That bill requires that all businesses use the E-Verify system to ensure that anyone who is working in the state has legal status to do so. Beason's bill, on the other hand, only requires businesses doing work for the state government or getting state grants to use E-Verify for employees it hires. Beason does not believe small businesses should have to go through that process when hiring employees, though it does put forth penalties for businesses that hire undocumented workers knowingly.