Alabama House passes bill allowing local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws
Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, speaks to a colleague on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 8, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House passed Yarbrough's bill that would allow local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would allow local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws.
HB 7, sponsored by Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, would give sheriff's deputies and police officers authority to arrest and detain individuals who are not authorized to be in the U.S. and to transfer them to the custody of federal law enforcement.
'This bill will be key to the process of securing the safety of our communities. It's got common sense protections in there and accountability and transparency,' Yarbrough said.
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The legislation allows local and state law enforcement agencies to enter into agreements to enforce the country's immigration laws with federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Currently, the Alabama Attorney General's Office is the only state entity with that power.
Under the bill, sheriffs' deputies; police officers and state troopers may also arrest people based on their immigration status 'when authorized by federal law.' Law enforcement must also obtain documents to verify a person's immigration status, be that a passport or a permanent resident card.
The chamber adopted a committee substitute 77-20 that removed some of the requirements. Previously, the Attorney General's Office was required to publicly name any agency failing to comply with provisions in the legislation and notify the governor's office, but the amendment gives it the option.
Alabama has low rates of immigration. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 4% of Alabama's population was foreign-born in 2023, compared to 14.3% nationwide. Only 6% of the population speaks a language other than English at home, compared to 22.5% of the U.S. population.
House Democrats criticized the legislation, saying it trafficked in stereotypes about immigrants without status and that it could discourage cooperation with law enforcement in criminal investigations. Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, said he was worried about his foreign-born constituents and how the legislation will impact their trust in law enforcement.
'Bringing local law enforcement into the equation is going to create a lot of fear among people that are not doing anything wrong, that aren't committing crimes,' Ensler said. 'They're already on edge, and a lot of people are just trying to work hard. They're trying to better themselves, provide for their families, and I'm just concerned about how this will impact them.'
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.
Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, said it would lead to racial profiling and echoed Ensler saying it will increase local distrust in law enforcement.
'When local police are perceived as immigration agents, victims and witnesses of crimes within immigrant communities become reluctant to come forward,' Rafferty said. 'That doesn't make communities safer. It actually makes it far more dangerous.'
Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, said there are more American citizens that commit crimes than people without legal status. Studies have repeatedly proven that.
'I think that it's so unfair for us to just focus on one group of people and then with the immigrants that we are attacking,' she said.
Yarbrough said the bill was inspired by Laken Riley, a Georgia college student that was killed by a person without legal status in 2024. He said she would not have been killed if legislation like his existed when a colleague asked him. Rafferty said Riley's death could have been prevented with better communication between law enforcement about the man accused of killing her.
'The failure wasn't in our laws, but in the implementation and coordination between agencies, if it doesn't address the actual systemic failures and communication between local and federal authorities that actually contributed to this tragedy,' he said.
The House passed the bill 74-26. It now moves to the Senate.
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'This is not a time for the comfort zone,' she said. Thousands of protesters also rallied outside Oakland's City Hall, packing Frank Ogawa Plaza and spilling onto the adjacent streets. Some sang protest songs. Others picnicked with toddlers on the grass. Some climbed the city's famed Jack London Oak tree. Speaking from the back of a pickup truck, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee called for the protection of constitutional rights, democracy and immigrant communities. 'We are here to remind our country that this is a democracy. No kings allowed,' she said to cheers from the crowd. 'We do not allow dictators in a democracy. We are not going to allow this country — our great country — to devolve into an autocracy.' Assembly Member Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, said Trump's 'authoritarian policies' on immigration are destroying California. Immigrants 'are welcome here,' Wicks said. 'They are members of our communities. They make California what it is today. They represent the beauty of California and what makes the state great. I'm proud of our immigrant community.' The Oakland protesters voiced disappointment with Democrats as much as they slammed Trump's policies. Friends Sharlene Holmes and Janis Jackson said they showed up to fight for democracy because 'everybody has to do their part.' Both said they were disappointed by how Democrats have not been aggressive enough in responding to Trump. 'More of them need to be like Jasmine Crockett and AOC,' Jackson said, referencing the progressive Texas congresswoman and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Corte. 'They have more balls than the men do.' Republicans have 'flipped the script,' and Democrats need to respond, said Jackson, a Contra Costa County resident. Pam Brandau, 78, said she couldn't stay silent amid Trump's mass deportations plans. She stood at Frank Ogawa Plaza holding a sign made by her 8- and 11-year-old granddaughters that said 'Restore Justice and Mercy for everyone' on one side and 'Not Wanted: Kings' on the other. 'I am sad. I am mad. People are being taken,' she said. 'I just can't stand by and sit at home.' Nearby, Nitya Sampath drove from the South Bay on Saturday morning to meet her sister in Oakland for the march. Sampath had only one message for Trump; 'He's a moron,' she said, pointing to her sign that read 'MAGA: Morons Are Governing America.' Several thousand people gathered for a noon march through downtown Petaluma, carrying signs reading, 'No crown for the clown,' 'No MAGA monarchy,' and 'Eggs are so expensive cuz the chickens are in Congress.' Outside the Bay Area, crowds spilled out onto Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz, stretching for blocks while traffic at the intersection with Riverside Avenue ground to a halt. Protesters chanted, 'Ain't no power like the power of the people because the power of the people don't stop.' Veterans Vanessa Lopez and Tim Butler attended the Santa Cruz rally with their daughter. The couple said they are concerned by cuts to Veterans Affair jobs and benefits. Butler, who served in the Marines, said he is disturbed by the Marines being deployed in Los Angeles. 'To see Marines in the streets… we're not supposed to be in the streets, that's not what we're designed for. We're designed to protect the country and for assistance abroad,' Butler said. 'It's scary to see that, it's not something that should be happening in the United States.' The couple's daughter, Tatiana Lopez, said it was her first protest. 'I'm proud to be here,' she said. 'For me it's about the deportation. My grandma, she's an immigrant, and I would hate to see her go back to Mexico after all the hard work that she's done to make my mom and me live such a good life.' In Los Angeles, Anna Perez, 46, of suburban Lincoln Heights carried a sign honoring her grandparents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Sonora years ago and became citizens. Her parents worked as civil servants, and she now works for the city of Los Angeles. 'There's an insinuation we're all criminals, that we want to take from the government, to steal,' Perez said. 'We all turned out perfectly fine.' She had spent the last week watching ICE raids and unrest with alarm. The situation crystallized for her when she asked her 14-year-old how she felt about everything. Her daughter replied, 'It's sad this has become our new normal,' she said. 'It's hard to hear that.' Caroline Heldman, a professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said in an interview on KPIX that the number of people marching nationwide in Saturday's No Kings protests could set a new record for the U.S. The largest single-day protest in U.S. history was the Women's March in 2017, which was held in response to Trump's first inauguration. Estimates of the number of people who attended demonstrations that day range from 3.3 million to 4.6 million, including about 100,000 in San Francisco. Ko Lyn Cheang, Sarah Ravani, Hannah Hagemann, St. John Barned-Smith, Christian Leonard and Demian Bulwa contributed to this report.
Axios
2 hours ago
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Police make arrest after Texas capitol evacuated over threat to lawmakers
The Texas Department of Public Safety arrested a person in connection with threats against state lawmakers that saw the state capitol briefly evacuated on Saturday, the DPS said. The big picture: The threats against the lawmakers whom officials said planned to attend Austin's anti-Trump " No Kings" protest came hours after after two Democratic Minnesota legislators and their spouses were shot in what police described as "targeted attacks." Minnesota state House Democratic Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband fatally shot during the attack at their Twin Cities home. Details: The state capitol was evacuated due to a "credible threat" against the lawmakers, the DPS said just after 1pm local time. A DPS trooper later took one person into custody in connection with the threats, per a later DPS post. Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick wrote spoke out against threats to lawmakers on X as he confirmed the "credible threat" that was made "to possibly kill members of the Texas legislature at the capitol":
