Bearing Witness to Alabama & Georgia's Anti-Immigrant Laws

Photo: 

For the moment, Alabama has out-Arizona’ed Arizona’s anti-immigration bill, SB1070. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn left standing many of the outrageous elements of HB56, the Alabama legislature’s attempt to prove that it can hate better than the competition.

According to the National Immigration Forum, here are the sections that the judge allowed to proceed:

• Making it a state crime for an undocumented immigrant to not carry documents required by federal law,
• Requiring police to make a reasonable attempt to determine immigration status for anyone they stop, detain, or arrest when they “reasonably suspect” the individual is illegally in the country,
• Making it a felony for an undocumented immigrant to do business with the state, like getting water service, and
• Requiring Alabama public school officials to check the immigration status of students.

Wait. Did I read that last one correctly? It’s no longer important to educate all the children in our community? Scaring elementary students is suddenly an American value? And since when has it been a good idea to turn principals into immigration agents? In an effort to scapegoat undocumented immigrants for all that’s going wrong with our country, Alabama’s “leadership” has definitely gone off the deep end.

Some problems with Blackburn’s ruling and the law itself: some sections of HB56 have actually been found unconstitutional elsewhere. The law will certainly burden local police departments with responsibilities that belong to the federal government. Additional detentions – of non-criminals – will burden an already-strapped state budget. The “reasonably suspect” provision provides a slippery slope to racial profiling. Should the law proceed, it’ll be difficult for farmers to find workers and for the state to rebuild after April’s tornadoes. And on and on.

At least Blackburn blocked provisions that would have outlawed the harboring or transporting of undocumented immigrants – you know, like driving a neighbor to church – and another that would have stopped undocumented immigrants from studying at public universities.

Both civil rights groups and the Justice Department – who separately challenged the law – are considering appeals. This ruling makes it more likely that the recent spate of anti-immigration state laws will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Alabama governor Robert Bentley called the judge’s ruling a “victory for Alabama.” Sounds like a defeat for American values of fairness and equal treatment.

Meanwhile next door in Georgia, OneAmerica Executive Director Pramila Jayapal joined a diverse group of advocates, journalists, and scholars who work on behalf of women, workers, immigrants, children, survivors of violence, and LGBT individuals who went to Atlanta this week as part of the We Belong Together Delegation for Immigrant Rights in order to bear witness to the experiences of women and children who have been directly affected by HB 87, a similar anti-immigration bill.

The delegation heard moving testimony from women such as Claudia, who:

…came to the US from Honduras in 2006, only to find herself in an abusive, violent relationship. Her husband used the threat of deportation to control her. She said, “I was too scared to call the police. Will they arrest me or the person harassing me?” Her worst fears became reality when law enforcement officials arrested and deported her, separating her from her son.

Claudia’s story highlights the well-founded fear and distrust among immigrant women that law enforcement will not protect them from their abusers. Laws like HB 87 deter women from calling law enforcement because the risk of deportation is so great. It victimizes women twice: at the hands of their abuser and that of the police. Yet, Claudia’s sole wish? “Only thing I want is to live in peace with my son.”

In a statement, the delegation commits “to carry these voices and stories to our own communities, to policy-makers in our nation’s capitol and across the country. We commit to raise awareness about the harsh realities of the barriers that individuals face simply trying to provide for their families and offer their children a better future.”

Hey Congress, have you seen the writing on the wall yet...in flashing neon? It’s far past time to finally fix our broken immigration system.