Alabama's Anti-Immigrant Legislation

Not so much in the news.  Read the entire article.  Very well-researched and written.

Opponents of a stringent immigration bill passed by the Alabama Legislature last week say they plan to bring it to court.

The legislation, modeled on a controversial bill signed into law in Arizona last year, makes it a crime for someone who is in the country illegally to hold a job in Alabama. It also allows law enforcement officials to detain immigrants when there is a "reasonable suspicion" the person stopped is not a citizen or lawful alien. It makes con­ tracts with those in the country illegally unlawful; provides non-criminal penalties for busi­nesses that hire illegal immigrants and requires businesses to enroll in the federal E-Veri­fy system to check the status of their employees.

The Arizona legislation, known as SB 1070, has been hit with lawsuits, and an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center said Friday that the or­ganization would mount a chal­lenge to the legislation unless Gov. Robert Bentley vetoes it.

"It is frankly un-Ameri­can," said Sam Brooke, who works with the SPLC's Immi­grant Justice Project. "It's en­couraging racial profiling."

And Governor Bentley has indicated he would consider signing the legislation.  This part is amazing. My emphasis.

The 71-page legislation in­corporates some portions of Arizona's 17-page law verba­tim, including a section deal­ing with picking up workers in motor vehicles and anoth­er one defining entrapment. In other areas, such as those dealing with business li­censes, the language is very similar.

The bill also makes it a state crime to be present in Alabama without proper doc­umentation. In language that parallels Arizona's SB 1070, the legislation allows fines of up to $100 and jail time of up to 30 days for those found without proper documenta­tion.

So, if I travel to Alabama I have to bring my passport to show I am allowed to be there?  Aside from all the obvious jokes that Alabama is its own country, I wonder if this will get as much press as the Arizona and Georgia laws did.  Partially because of media fatigue with a story that is popping up everywhere.  But I question if Alabama's racist history along with a general perception from outsiders that there aren't many immigrants there anyway, might keep the story at bay.