February 15th, 2012
Posted in MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Hundreds of protestors rallied on Tuesday at the Alabama Statehouse courtyard to fight against mistreatment of immigrants.
The protestors chose to send a message to state officials on Valentine’s Day in order to show that lawmakers need to respect immigrants, despite legal status, and should repeal laws that target undocumented aliens.
The protesters carried signs with messages such as “Gov. Bentley, don’t you have a heart?” and “Una Familia, Una Alabama (One Family, One Alabama),” as well as chanted in both English and Spanish, “No more HB56 (the anti-illegal immigration bill that just became a law).”
In addition to protesting, the group sent Valentines and candy to lawmakers, asking them to put an end to the law.
Amazingly, state officials said they plan to introduce a bill in the upcoming weeks that will change certain aspects of the law, however, House
Majority Leader Micky Hammon, one of the sponsors of the bill, said the basics of the law itself will not be softened.
The protestors were not satisfied with this and are urging lawmakers to completely abolish the law.
“Tweaks are only temporary Band-Aids, not a permanent solution,” said Zayne Smith, a coordinator with the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice.
Among the requirements set forth by the new law, police officers will be ordered to determine citizenship status of those they stop during traffic violations and government offices will be ordered to verify legal residency for transactions like obtaining a license or enrolling a child in school.
Opponents say the law causes more harm than good and is hurting Alabama’s economy as well as overall image. However, since the law took effect last fall, the state’s unemployment rate dropped from 8.7 percent in November to 8.1 percent in December, so those in favor of the law have urged legislators to leave it as is.
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Tags: Alabama Coalition, Citizenship Status, Government Offices, Hammon, Illegal Immigration, Immigration Bill, Immigration Law, Legal Residency, Majority Leader, Montgomery Alabama, Permanent Solution, Protestors, State Officials, Statehouse, Target, Traffic Violations, Undocumented Aliens, Unemployment Rate, Valentine S Day, Zayne