Alabama immigration enforcement bill gets approval from 2nd House committee
Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, greets a colleague on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 6, 2024 in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Judiciary Committee Wednesday approved a bill sponsored by Yarbrough to allow local law enforcement to enforce the country's immigration laws. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved an immigration bill that had already received another committee's approval earlier in the session.
The House Judiciary Committee approved HB 7, sponsored by Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, which would give local law enforcement the authority to enforce the country's immigration laws.
'There are no new laws added,' Yarbrough said to committee members during the meeting. 'It simply allows that partnership to take place just to address safety in our communities.'
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Judiciary approved the bill about six weeks after the House Public Safety and Homeland Security did so in February. It is unusual for a bill to go through two committees before going to the floor of the House for a vote. The last major legislation to get routed through two House committees was the bill legalizing medical cannabis in Alabama in 2021.
The current bill, largely unchanged from last year, allows local law enforcement, such as sheriff's offices and police departments, to enter into agreements with federal agencies to arrest and detain people who are not legally authorized to reside in the country.
Once in custody, deputies and police officers must then attempt to determine a person's immigration status and get the help of an interpreter to determine someone's nationality.
If a person cannot provide documentation proving they are eligible to live in the country, local law enforcement may then reach out to a Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) to get information about a person's immigration status.
The bill states that people cannot be detained solely because of their immigration status unless authorized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and that sheriffs' deputies and police departments will verify that a person has an arrest warrant within 24 hours of the person getting detained.
Law enforcement must also obtain documents to verify a person's immigration status, bet that a passport or a permanent resident card.
House Judiciary Committee members approved an amendment making a few of the requirements optional. A previous version required the Alabama Attorney General's Office to publicly name any agency failing to comply with provisions in the legislation and notify the governor's office.
The updated language gives the AG's Office an option to inform the Governor's Office.
Another amendment also allows, but doesn't require, local law enforcement to report the total number of people arrested and the number of foreign nationals they take into custody as well as the inquiries they make to the LESC.
Immigration advocates who spoke at a public hearing on the legislation in March said the legislation is creating fear among immigrant communities. That, they said, would lead to mistrust toward law enforcement and increased school truancy for children of immigrants who are afraid to attend school for fear of their parents being deported.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee criticized the legislation.
'What country do we border in Alabama?' asked Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery during the committee meeting Wednesday.
Yarbrough said that every state is connected, and that people travel.
'Each state doesn't have a physical wall, so people travel from state to state,' Yarbrough said.
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