Saturday, June 11, 2011

Alabama punishes the toughest immigration law in the United States

Republican Gov. Robert Bentley on Thursday enacted a law to prosecute illegal immigration in Alabama that both proponents and critics regard as the toughest in the United States. The measure will require public schools to determine the immigration status of their students, an aspect not covered an Arizona law that has been at the center of the debate about the attempt to control illegal immigration in several states.


According to the new Alabama law, police must arrest anyone who does not show whether the regulatory documents suspected of being in the country illegally. It will also be a felony to transport or shelter to someone who is illegally in the state. The law imposes sanctions against companies that hire workers without legal residency status, for example, suspension or revocation of his license.

The law, whose validity is planned from September 1, requires companies to use a database called E-Verify to confirm the immigration status of new employees. "We have a real problem with illegal immigration in this country," Bentley said after signing the law. "I defended the tougher immigration laws and I am proud of the Legislature for working tirelessly to create the strongest legislation in the country," he added.

Advocates of immigrant rights promised to challenge the law in court, after having blocked similar measures in Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Georgia. The U.S. Justice Department appealed the Arizona law. Alabama is the last state to follow the example of the controversial law passed in Arizona last year.

The courts blocked the implementation of part of the legislation that allowed police to check the immigration status of passersby. The Alabama law is distinguished by the requirement that public schools determined through review of birth certificates or affidavits, legal residency status of students.

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