Some supporters of Alabama’s controversial immigration law, HB 56, are having second thoughts. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, speaking in front of over 600 businessmen and lawmakers at the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) in mid-November, admitted the law needed to be simplified and said he is already collecting suggestions for amendments from businesses and law enforcement groups. But the governor still held some ground, saying “we’re going to keep the essence of this bill that has already been upheld in federal court.” In early December, Governor Bentley got what he asked for: Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange sent a memo to Alabama lawmakers suggesting a series of changes to the law to address some of the “unintended consequences.”
A series of developments in Alabama have helped convince many of the state’s residents, including some lawmakers that strongly supported the bill at passage, that HB 56’s provisions may be too harsh and difficult to enforce. Perhaps the most salient worry is that the law’s effect on the immigrant labor force might hurt Alabama’s business environment, which like many other states, is still reeling from the recession.
One of the main opponents of HB 56 is One Family, One Alabama, a movement that kicked off in mid-November at Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a landmark of the U.S. civil rights movement. Policy makers such as Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force Chair and Mayor William Bell attended the launch, among others. The movement is supported by the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the National Conference on Civil and Human Rights and is a response to the unintended consequences of the bill.
Only a few days after the launch of One Family, One Obama, one of these unintended consequences was laid bare. A German manager of Mercedes-Benz was arrested in Alabama for not having his driver’s license as mandated by HB 56. The Mercedes-Benz manager was released after an associate turned his passport, visa, and German driver’s license in to the authorities. Before HB 56, not carrying a driver’s license would result in nothing more than a citation.
More Alabama lawmakers like Republican Senator Gerald Dial are pushing to amend HB 56 or scrap it altogether. Senator Jabo Waggoner, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, said “having to prove legal residence for every transaction with state or local government, including renewing a driver’s license, is too cumbersome. Criminalizing giving charitable aid to undocumented immigrants goes too far.”
Alabama’s private sector has been vocal in its opposition to HB 56 and its negative economic impact. Brian Hilson, Chief Executive of the BBA, has said that HB 56 makes Alabama less attractive for investment compared to other states without this type of law. His comments are in line with those of Professor Samuel Addy from the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama who said that HB 56 will reduce the state’s economy by $40 million.
Among the least popular provisions of HB 56 are the those that requires proof of legal residence or citizenship for every transaction with the government; the obligation for professional licensing boards in the state to verify the status of all licensees; and the fact that schools must check the documented status of students.
As Birmingham’s city attorney Thomas Bentley said, proving citizenship for all transactions “applies to almost everything that we do.” Section 30 of HB 56 reads, “any person entering into a business transaction or attempting to enter into a business transaction with this state or a political subdivision of this state shall be required to demonstrate his or her United States citizenship, or if he or she is an alien, his or her lawful presence in the United States to the person conducting the business transaction on behalf of this state or a political subdivision of this state.” If this were to be interpreted to the letter, the state of Alabama could legally deny water, sanitation and any other public service to undocumented immigrants.
There are plenty of reasons to amend HB 56 so that its provisions are more humane and actually enforceable. But the question is: how far will the Alabama State legislature go to tone down the bill, while maintaining its essence, as Governor Bentley says. More importantly, if this bill is amended, what precedent will this set for Arizona, Georgia and other states and cities that have passed controversial immigration legislation? We’ll have to wait and see.
Lina Salazar a guest blogger for the Hispanic Integration Hub and for AmericasQuarterly.org, and a contributing writer for Americas Quarterly. Richard Andre is a policy associate for Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
