Opponents fear that a draft law from Alabama, which, as a procedure against people who act illegally across national borders, would be promoted to give someone a different state for medical care.
SB53 by Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, would build a law of Alabama against human smuggling.
It is one of several laws of the Republican states that the legislature of the state sponsors, which they say that they would help combat illegal immigration and to match President Trump's efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants.
Jordan Stallworth, a school bus driver and substitute teacher who works with the Alabama Coalition for Migrant Justice, said he was a risk of prosecution if the draft law becomes a law.
Stallworth lives in Wedowee, the County seat of Randolph County, who borders Georgia. His wife's family comes from Mexico.
Stallworth said that because of the work of his family, he helps immigrants that he gives people to the hospital in Carrollton, GA, for care that is not available in the smaller Wedowee Hospital.
According to the law, a trip to Alabama would be a crime if you are illegal immigrants.
“A person commits the crime of human smuggling when they knowingly transported to this state if he or she knows that it is an illegal foreigner,” says the law.
The crime would be a crime of class C, which is punished at up to 10 years in prison.
Stallworth was one of three people who spoke against SB53 at a public hearing in the State House in Montgomery.
“We sit here and stand here in the historical point where civil rights were fought and we continue to fight,” Stallworth told the House Justice Committee. “We are all immigrants.”
Stallworth said the legislators should consider how the police would enforce the law.
“How can you find out whether someone looks undocumented, especially when it is on the go?” Said stallworth.
“How can you see someone, stop him and say and say that:” Hey, I think you are undocumented. Give me your papers, “said Stallworth.
Kitchens explained his bill and reacted to the concerns. He has already made changes to the invoice.
A section that had “hidden, hide, host or shielded illegal extraterrestrials was removed.
In fact, the current version of the law would be a “nourishing and accommodating” law that Alabama passed in 2011 – part of the so -called HB56 – which was never enforced because it was blocked by federal courts.
Kitchens said he was ready to take more changes to the legislative template into account, but said that the intention of legislation was solid.
“Nothing in this calculation if you do things right when there is someone who immigrates to our country and tries to do everything right, there is nothing in this bill to punish it,” said Kitchens.
“This should try to get people, the people who come here illegally. Also reduces human trafficking. It is that it is people who take out people in and out of the state of Alabama.”
The Senate passed the kitchen law of 24-8 in February, whereby the Republicans supported this and all eight Democrats who were right.
In addition to the definition of the crime of human smuggling, the draft law would clarify the process for the state, district and city police in order to determine the immigration status of an immigration status arrested due to crime.
Kitchens said that this would help law enforcement and contribute to protecting the public in a similar way to a new federal law that expands the authority to detain illegal immigrants who are charged with crimes to detain the Riley Act sheet.
Read more: Laken Riley Act in Alabama: Bill would give the police more authority to arrest immigrants without papers
After the public hearing of the past week, the house's judicial committee did not vote on the kitchen bill. The chairman, Rep. Jim Hill, R-Moody, said the committee will vote on Wednesday at the next meeting.
According to Hill, the members of the committee would have the opportunity to make changes to the legislation before a vote next week.
The Senate added the ban on bringing illegal immigrants across state borders for lawyers, bringing clients to immigration courts in Atlanta or New Orleans, because Alabama has no federal immigration court.
At the public hearing of the past week, two lawyers from the Justice Committee proposed a further change in the general liberation of people who take part in court hearings.
They found that lawyers do not normally drive their clients to court, so that they are family members or others who provide transport that would be exposed to the risk of prosecution for the exceeding of government borders.
Kitchens said that he would consider changing the liberation for court hearings, but was concerned about too many exceptions.
“What we don't want to do is where we open Pandora's box, where we suddenly get so many gaps that it is really ineffective,” said Kitchenens.
Also at the hearing of last week, Allison Hamilton, Executive Director of the Alabama Coalition of Migrant Justice, said without documentation with children born in the United States, must also exceed the national borders to visit the consulates of their home countries.
Hamilton said that parents who are threatened by the Trump administration of the Trump administration with consulates to prepare their children born in the USA when they are deported.
The Justice Committee meets on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
Nine days remain in the legislative meeting, enough time to adopt the kitchen bill when it is approved by the committee.
