Latest news with #AndiRice
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Alabama Legislature only passes two immigration bills despite GOP push on issue
Protesters march during a non violent protest in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S., on Saturday February 22, 2025. Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice organized the event for the public to show empathy to immigrants in the wake of all the anti immigration bills currently in legislature. The Alabama Legislature considered several proposals during the 2025 session to place further restrictions on peple without legal status. Photographer: Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector Despite spending a great deal of time on the issue in the 2025 session, the Alabama Legislature only passed two bills targeting those without appropriate authorization to reside in the country. SB 63, sponsored by Sen. Lance Bell, R-Pell City, requires law enforcement in Alabama to take fingerprints and DNA samples of people without the documentation to live in the U.S. and submit them to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Alabama Department of Forensic Science. SB 53, sponsored by Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, made it a crime, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine, for people to knowingly transport a person without the appropriate documentation to reside in the country into the state. The bill also required county or municipal jail administrators to investigate those placed into custody to determine a person's immigration status and check with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if the individual was issued an immigration detainer or warrant. 'Many of these bills were created to address problems that don't exist in Alabama,' said Allison Hamilton, executive director of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice. 'The majority of these bills were copycat bills that were developed at national thinktanks and distributed out to different legislators around the country to implement in their states.' But several other immigration bills stalled before getting a final vote. HB 7, sponsored by Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, would have allowed state and local law enforcement to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enforce the country's immigration laws, an authority that currently belongs only to the Alabama Attorney General's Office. The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee approved the legislation in February, soon after the 2025 session began, but the full chamber did not vote on the measure until April. The legislation did not come to a vote in the full Senate. HB 3, sponsored by Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollingers Island, would have enhanced penalties for people convicted of felonies if they cannot prove they have legal authorization to be in the U.S. A Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison to a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Those convicted of a Class C felony would have their punishment upgraded to a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. People who commit a Class B felony would have their convictions upgraded to a Class A felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison and a $60,000 fine. Individuals found guilty of a Class A felony, the most serious offense, would have had to serve at least 15 years in prison. Other legislation would have made labor brokers register with the Alabama Department of Workforce and must then report the foreign nationals they place with companies through contract work. Another bill, HB 297, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Fidler, R-Silverhill, would have originally imposed a fee on international wire transfers, often used by immigrants to support families overseas. But the legislation was heavily amended to require reports on certain overseas cash transactions. All the bills eventually stalled in the Senate. One bill attempted to restrict those without proper authorization by limiting their ability to drive in the state. SB 55, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, would have prohibited people who have a driver's license from another state from driving in Alabama if the state that authorized it did not review a person's legal status. The legislation stalled in the House chamber after it passed the Senate. Legislators from a slate of other states introduced nearly identical legislation, so Hamilton said the bills are not tailored to the problems that residents face in Alabama. 'If they were really trying to address it, there were other bills that other representatives introduced that would have been more effective, but this bill was really about continuing to oppress immigrant communities and make life difficult,' she said.' But those who favor more restrictions said actions are necessary to disincentivize people without appropriate authorization to live in the country. 'The objective here is to present people here with rational choices, and if they believe they are not going to succeed in what they are doing, then they either will not come to the United States at all, or if individual states within the country adopt policies that make it clear they are going to be partners in enforcement, those people will settle elsewhere in the county,' said Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that advocates for immigration legislation like those introduced. Debu Ghandi, senior director for immigration at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, cited a 2020 report from the organization that found undocumented immigrants contribute almost $80 million in federal taxes and $41 billion in state and local taxes each year. They also pay another $315 billion annually nationally through spending. 'Many industries often rely on their hard, and often dangerous, work,' he said. 'Undocumented immigrants, in fact, cannot receive social and Medicare benefits, but they have to pay into these programs through the payroll taxes that they are required to pay even though they are not eligible for the benefits that these programs fund.' Hamilton said there are potential negative consequences of these bills for the state. 'What Alabama would like in that case is a lot fewer workers and a lot fewer people, fewer restaurants, and just a sadder place,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House passes two bills targeting immigrants without legal status
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Protesters march during a nonviolent protest in Birmingham, Alabama, in protest of bills targeting immigrants on Saturday February 22, 2025. The Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday passed two bills targeting immigrants without legal status. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House of Representatives passed two bills on Tuesday that target immigrants without legal status in the state. SB 53, sponsored by Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, would require law enforcement to determine the legal status of those they have a 'reasonable suspicion' of being in the country without status during stops. The bill also makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a person to 'knowingly transport into this state another individual if he or she knows is an illegal alien,' which the bill defines as human smuggling. 'It codifies the practice that jail administrators are already doing now in terms of reporting illegal immigrant detainees and verifying their immigration status,' said Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, who carried the bill in the House. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, questioned what 'reasonable suspicion' is. 'If you're not profiling, what is your reasonable suspicion that they're unlawful?' Jackson said. 'Being Hispanic is not a crime. Being Spanish is not a crime.' The language is similar to language in HB 56, the 2011 state law that attempted to criminalize the lives of immigrants without legal status. Federal courts gutted much of the law. The House adopted a Judiciary Committee substitute 92-0 that provided exceptions for people to transport people without legal status. One is for health care providers transporting patients, if people are transporting people for religious or charitable reasons, or people that an attorney who represents an individual authorizes. The Senate approved the legislation in February, after the body removed language in the original bill that echoed language in the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act that threatened those who helped enslaved people escape with fines and imprisonment. The bill offers several exceptions for people who are transporting people who are not legally authorized to live in the U.S. into Alabama, such as attorneys transporting clients to different immigration facilities or educators escorting their students for a school related activity. The legislation was criticized by the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice at a public hearing and in a statement Tuesday. 'SB 53 puts U.S. citizen family and friends at risk of felony charges for simply driving their loved ones. It was unconstitutional when the Alabama Legislature did it in 2011, and it is unconstitutional now,' Executive Director Allison Hamilton wrote in the statement. Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, said he is concerned about the situations that are not listed as an exception in the legislation, like going to a wedding across state lines and one person in the car is undocumented but is married to a U.S. citizen. 'Does that not concern you that people just doing innocent things, visiting family, doing joyous occasions like a wedding that they can be charged with a felony for smuggling?' Ensler asked Robbins. The Coalition had similar concerns. 'I live really close to the Georgia border and not everyone in my family is documented. I can't believe it would be illegal for me to drive my in-laws to the nearest hospital since it crosses the state line,' Jordan Stallworth, civic engagement coordinator at the Coalition, wrote in the statement. 'This type of targeting is dehumanizing and demoralizing. My family deserves better. All our families deserve better.' Robbins said there is a 'serious problem' in the state and the country with bad actors. 'I think that we've got a serious problem in the state and the country of people transporting individuals for commercial reasons and exploiting them for cheap labor,' Robbins said. 'I think we have to do something to try to address that problem. I am more focussed on addressing those bad actors.' According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 4% of Alabama's population is foreign-born. The national average is 14.3%. The bill passed 80-18. It goes to the Senate for concurrence or conference committee. There are two days left of legislative session. The House also passed SB 63, sponsored by Sen. Lance Bell, R-Riverside, which requires fingerprinting and DNA collection from non-citizens in custody, adding them to a state's forensic database. Rep. Mark Shirey, R-Mobile, carried the legislation in the House. He said the bill will expedite the process for DNA results. 'Right now when they detain an illegal immigrant for the feds, they wait for the feds. The feds come to get them and they do the DNA and fingerprints and send it to the national lab,' Shirey said. 'They're backup is two and a half years and the backup in the state is two and a half hours.' The bill passed 76-7 with no discussion. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House committee approves bill targeting immigrants
The Hernandez Family joins a protest against anti immigration bills now proposed before Congress in Birmingham, Alabama,, on Saturday February 22, 2025. An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved legislation targeting immigrants. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) The House Judiciary Committee Wednesday approved legislation that requires law enforcement to verify people's immigration status during a stop if they have 'reasonable suspicion' they are not authorized to be in the country. SB 53, sponsored by Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, also makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for someone to knowingly transport a person without proper authorization into the state. 'The intent of this bill, what we are trying to do, is to provide tools for our law enforcement officers,' Kitchens told members of the committee. 'If someone has broken the law, if the person has been arrested and taken to jail, to give the law enforcement officers and the jails, county, municipal, state jails, the authority they need to be able to verify immigration status when that individual was there.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Jasmin Hernandez-Alamillo, the community health coordinator for the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, a group that advocates for immigrants, attended the meeting and said he felt 'utter devastation' at the vote. 'They are not recognizing human beings as human beings,' he said. 'That makes me extremely upset because I come from immigrants. My family are immigrants. I work with immigrants every single day, and they do not see us as humans.' The committee approved Kitchens' bill one week after the committee hosted a public hearing in which members heard from several who spoke against the legislation, with one pastor telling the committee it violates Christian values, and a second person saying it could prevent people from obtaining the necessary paperwork to bring their children back to their home country in the event they are deported. The Senate approved the legislation in February, after the body removed language related to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, that forced the public to assist slave catchers return people to bondage to the south. The bill offers several exceptions for people who are transporting people who are not legally authorized to live in the U.S. into Alabama, such as attorneys transporting clients to different immigration facilities or educators escorting their students for a school related activity. Members of the House Judiciary Committee approved other exemptions to the crime of human smuggling as part of an amendment. One is for health care providers transporting patients, if people are transporting people for religious or charitable reasons, or people that an attorney who represents an individual authorizes. 'Many times people are already afraid of law enforcement and are already afraid to tell them, 'Hey, something is going on, something is going wrong in my community, I need help.'' Hernandez-Alamillo said. ' Particularly as it involves human trafficking, and I think this will dampen those efforts to try and eliminate that issue in our society.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds rally in Birmingham in support of immigrant rights
Isidro Gonzalez holds the American flag during a protest in Birmingham, Alabama of anti-immigration bills in the Alabama Legislature February 22, 2025. About 500 people attended the rally. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) BIRMINGHAM — Nine-year-old Ballan Medina joined his parents and at least 500 immigrants and supporters in Birmingham Saturday for a simple reason. 'They like it here,' Medina said. The protest at Railroad Park in support of immigrants comes as the Trump administration is moving to rapidly deport those without legal status and as the Alabama Legislature has advanced several bills targeting immigrants in the 2025 session. The bills would ban driver's licenses from at least two states issued to migrants in the country without permission; ban transporting immigrants without status into Alabama and require law enforcement to collect DNA and fingerprints from detained migrants. Another bill would allow law enforcement to hold someone they suspect is in the country without permission in custody for up to 48 hours until they verify their legal status with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Alabama's immigrant communities are small compared to the rest of the country. According to the U.S. Census, only 4% of the state's population is foreign-born. In the United States as a whole, 14.3% of the population was born in another country. People started trickling in the park entrance around 1 p.m., but quickly picked up within an hour, with hundreds of people, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder so they could hear the speakers, showing up before the crowd marched up and down 1st Avenue in downtown Birmingham. As they marched, the crowd chanted, 'Say it loud and say it clear, immigrants are welcomed here,' and 'The people united, will never be divided.' Isabella Roque, a 14-year-old from Birmingham, said she was here 'to fight for everyone who doesn't have a voice,' like her 'tios' and 'tias,' or uncles and aunts. She said she hopes people understand that different people have different stories, and that 'you never know what every person is going through.' 'I hope that we make people realize what they're doing is wrong, and that America was built off Black and brown [people], and that they realize basically what they're doing is wrong,' Roque said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The protest was organized by young college students, who said they feel they not only have the feel like its up to them to organize because so many people in the community are 'voiceless.' Isabella Castro, a University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) student and one of the organizers said to the crowd that she stood in there 'recognizing her privilege' of advocating, but also the privilege to work and go to school. 'Dignity and human rights are not only privileges granted to some, but they are a birthright to every individual,' she said. Miguel Luna, a University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) and one of the organizers, said in a speech that they were there to fight for all immigrants, from DACA students who may feel uncertainty about their status to those fleeing violence in their home countries, and to remind lawmakers that they are united and and their voice 'can and will make a difference.' Luna said he was there to 'demand' leaders in Birmingham, Alabama and the U.S. recognize the contribution of the immigrant community and work towards creating a path to citizenship. '[My parents] came here like so many others, with dreams of a better future, not just for themselves, but for their children, for their families and for the generations to come. They have worked tirelessly, tirelessly, contributing to this country in ways that are often unseen yet invaluable,' Luna said. He added immigrants have built homes, raised families, paid taxes and 'enriched our communities with their cultures, labor and their resilience.' 'Yet, despite their sacrifices, despite their contributions, immigrants in this country, our families, our friends, our neighbors, are constantly under attack, policies are being written not to uplift them, but to push them into the shadows,' Luna said. Castro and Luna are also plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against a state law barring public funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Juan Manuel Garcia, a Birmingham resident who immigrated with his wife from Mexico nearly 30 years ago, said that after President Donald Trump came into office, it's been a different way of living each day. 'We try to live today because we don't know what will happen tomorrow. So, everyone is very worried. It's depressing. It's sad. Too many emotions,' Garcia said in an interview, which was conducted in Spanish. He said that they are here in search of the 'American dream' and for a better future. 'If we're here, it's because we want a future for our families, especially our children, my wife,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Why we're looking at mental health care in Alabama
Brochures are seen at Crisis Center, a Birmingham-base United Way associated resource serving individuals facing personal crises and mental health issues in central Alabama, on Monday July 3rd, 2023. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) When Alabama lawmakers focus on actual issues, they tend to avoid or overlook specifics. Things like the scope of a problem. Take broadband. For years, state leaders talked endlessly about the need for high-speed internet. Alabama had to push money into broadband, they said, or we couldn't conjure the jobs that put a state legislator's mind at peace. I don't think anyone would oppose better internet access. The problem was that no one could say what exactly the issues were. The state didn't release its own broadband map until 2022. Former Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, once proposed using $800 million of a $1.7 billion COVID aid package to expand broadband, but no one could say if that was enough, too much or too little to wire the state. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX There's similar talk about the importance of supporting access to mental health services. And a similar silence on the details. What exactly are the mental health challenges in Alabama? And where does our state stand in responding to them? Today we're beginning a five-part serieson mental health in our state that tries to answer some of those questions. Broadly speaking, the challenges are many, and the state is still rebuilding from devastating cuts about 15 years ago. Facing shortfalls in the 2009-2010 recession, lawmakers gutted mental health funding. The Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH) struggled to recover that lost funding over the past decade. It took over a decade for the department to get back to the funding levels it had in 2008. And in real terms, it didn't get there until 2023. Give credit to legislators for making those investments in recent years. That money is going to build crisis centers, facilities that act as an emergency care system. But there are many other challenges. Getting coverage for mental health services can be difficult. The state lacks an adequate number of providers. There has been an increase in diagnoses of mental health conditions among students since the COVID-19 outbreak. Many people with mental illnesses who end up in jail go through a system that is poorly equipped to provide treatment, medication or the support they need. That can have deadly consequences. There are also innovative programs taking shape in Alabama. Like trying to put mental health professionals in schools to help students. And training law enforcement officers to find the best ways to work with people going through a mental health crisis. Some of the state's challenges don't necessarily reflect problems. It's far better to have students willing to discuss their challenges than biting their lips and imploding, or turning to nonprofessional resources to cope. Still, there are clear steps the state can take to address the issues. Jails cannot be places for people struggling with mental health. In the short term, Alabama legislators should work with counties to improve screening systems and help counties get medication to people in jail, either by stocking it or (more likely) finding ways to deliver medication that people confined prison may already be taking. In the long term, lawmakers need to continue investing in diversion programs and get the criminal justice system out of the business of mental health care. The state also needs to find ways to attract providers to the state. This is already a challenge in bringing medical professionals to Alabama. It's hard to encourage health care workers to come to a state where health care policy seems like an uncle's rant on Facebook. You could offer programs like rural health care incentives the state already extends. Making it easier for people to access mental health services — perhaps through Medicaid expansion — could help on that front. Rebuilding the state's mental health system will be a years-long, and maybe decades-long project, requiring political will and patience to try new things. We hope this series on the issue helps people find that way forward. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
