The anti-immigrant portion of the Alabama Legislature’s 2025 session got under way on Wednesday, as the Senate’s County and Municipal Government Committee entertained a smorgasbord of legislation designed to make the lives of immigrants – specifically Hispanic immigrants – living and working in the state more difficult.
Among the legislation presented before a packed committee room was a bill to tax international wire transfers, another to collect DNA and fingerprints from anyone detained by police and suspected of being in the country illegally or improperly, another to invalidate driver’s licenses issued by states not requiring proof of citizenship and another that requires local sheriffs offices and police departments to take extra steps to determine if detained individuals are “illegal aliens” and imposes penalties for persons or businesses that house, hide or transport anyone determined to be illegal.
The bills received a harsh response from the gathered crowd, and every speaker who came to the lectern to comment spoke against the bills. It didn’t much matter, since every one of them received a favorable report from the Republican-dominated committee members, with only the two Democrats voting against them.
Regardless the speakers made their points, and focused on both the anti-Christian, cruel aspects of the legislation and the fact that the bills were mostly unnecessary, unworkable and unwanted by those who would be tasked with enforcing them.
“I’d like to start off with Leviticus 19,” Rev. Julie Conrady, from Birmingham, said. “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them … I would just remind those senators who are people of faith of those important words.”
Conrady also pointed out that the Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency had the resources and the responsibility to fingerprint and collect DNA from any immigrant in the country illegally, so there was no reason to add that burden to local law enforcement agencies.
Jerome Dees, an attorney and policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, pointed out the broad and intentionally vague aspect of SB53, the bill that would make it a crime for anyone to transport an “illegal alien,” puts a number of well meaning people in violation of the proposed law. A school teacher, for example, who takes a class on a field trip would technically be committing a felony under the law should any of the students on that trip – or their accompanying parents – be in the country illegally.
That bill, along with the fingerprinting and DNA bill (SB63) and the bill (SB55) that revokes driver’s licenses from those who haven’t proven their legal status, also blatantly encourage law enforcement to racially profile citizens. Additionally, to be carried out, the bills would require people to prove themselves innocent – shifting the long held constitutional right of innocent until proven guilty.
