The Birmingham News (Editorial): The Republicans' solid wall of support for the state's toughest-in-the nation immigration law cracked last week when Gov. Robert Bentley told hundreds of business and elected leaders at a Birmingham Business Alliance luncheon that the law needed to be simplified.
No doubt, that wall of support cracked more when reports surfaced that industry recruiting had been harmed by the all-too-familiar image Alabama political leaders projected by supporting the harsh law. This week, the Senate leadership announced Senate Rules Committee Chairman Scott Beason was unceremoniously removed; Beason is one of the immigration law's two main sponsors, and his name is part of the law's official title.
The campaign to change the confusing, overbearing law gained momentum after Beason's replacement as chairman of the Rules Committee, Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, announced Republican senators are compiling a list of changes that need to be made to the law.
House and Senate leaders say the law may be tweaked, but not to expect major changes (see editorial below). Still, Waggoner said the law's unintended consequences need to be fixed.
Unintended, perhaps, from Waggoner's and other senators' points of view, but not from Beason's or his House co-sponsor's, Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur. Both have said repeatedly that they intended to make life so difficult for undocumented residents they would "self-deport." Of course, making life miserable for undocumented residents also means making life inconvenient for legal immigrants and U.S. citizens.
Now, that inconvenience transforms into "unintended consequences" that have to be changed.
We're all on board. There have been reports that some international companies are having second thoughts about Alabama in the wake of the law and the negative publicity it generates. A Chinese copper piping company, Golden Dragon, may not build a $100 million plant in Thomasville because of the immigration law, according to David Bronner, chief of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, who said he had conversations with Golden Dragon executives.
Greg Canfield, director of the Alabama Development Office, said the immigration law isn't the problem. Then again, Canfield voted for the law as a state representative before taking over ADO.
Giving other states an issue to hammer Alabama with in its industry recruiting efforts certainly would be one of those "unintended consequences" Waggoner and other Republicans should worry about.
Other problems senators cited:
-- The law requires people to prove legal residence or citizenship for every transaction with a state or local government, including license renewals.
-- The law potentially criminalizes giving charitable aid to undocumented residents.
-- The law mandates schools verify the immigration status of students and their parents.
-- The law requires that every professional licensing board in the state -- from those covering cosmetologists to doctors -- verify the resident status of all licensees, both at the initial license application and at renewal.
That's a lot of "unintended consequences." Federal courts have stayed many provisions, but the validity of the entire law still must be adjudicated.
Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, one of the senators helping to write amendments to the law, was candid with News staff writer Thomas Spencer.
"It's just common sense," Dial said. "Let's step up and say we've made some mistakes. It doesn't weaken the bill."
Well, the discussed changes certainly weaken the intent as expressed by Beason and Hammon: to make life miserable for undocumented residents.
No doubt, that wall of support cracked more when reports surfaced that industry recruiting had been harmed by the all-too-familiar image Alabama political leaders projected by supporting the harsh law. This week, the Senate leadership announced Senate Rules Committee Chairman Scott Beason was unceremoniously removed; Beason is one of the immigration law's two main sponsors, and his name is part of the law's official title.
The campaign to change the confusing, overbearing law gained momentum after Beason's replacement as chairman of the Rules Committee, Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, announced Republican senators are compiling a list of changes that need to be made to the law.
House and Senate leaders say the law may be tweaked, but not to expect major changes (see editorial below). Still, Waggoner said the law's unintended consequences need to be fixed.
Unintended, perhaps, from Waggoner's and other senators' points of view, but not from Beason's or his House co-sponsor's, Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur. Both have said repeatedly that they intended to make life so difficult for undocumented residents they would "self-deport." Of course, making life miserable for undocumented residents also means making life inconvenient for legal immigrants and U.S. citizens.
Now, that inconvenience transforms into "unintended consequences" that have to be changed.
We're all on board. There have been reports that some international companies are having second thoughts about Alabama in the wake of the law and the negative publicity it generates. A Chinese copper piping company, Golden Dragon, may not build a $100 million plant in Thomasville because of the immigration law, according to David Bronner, chief of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, who said he had conversations with Golden Dragon executives.
Greg Canfield, director of the Alabama Development Office, said the immigration law isn't the problem. Then again, Canfield voted for the law as a state representative before taking over ADO.
Giving other states an issue to hammer Alabama with in its industry recruiting efforts certainly would be one of those "unintended consequences" Waggoner and other Republicans should worry about.
Other problems senators cited:
-- The law requires people to prove legal residence or citizenship for every transaction with a state or local government, including license renewals.
-- The law potentially criminalizes giving charitable aid to undocumented residents.
-- The law mandates schools verify the immigration status of students and their parents.
-- The law requires that every professional licensing board in the state -- from those covering cosmetologists to doctors -- verify the resident status of all licensees, both at the initial license application and at renewal.
That's a lot of "unintended consequences." Federal courts have stayed many provisions, but the validity of the entire law still must be adjudicated.
Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, one of the senators helping to write amendments to the law, was candid with News staff writer Thomas Spencer.
"It's just common sense," Dial said. "Let's step up and say we've made some mistakes. It doesn't weaken the bill."
Well, the discussed changes certainly weaken the intent as expressed by Beason and Hammon: to make life miserable for undocumented residents.
That's the wrong motivation in the first place, and it says a lot about Beason and Hammon (and those who supported the bill).
Really, all Alabama needs to do -- should have done -- is to adopt E-Verify, the federal system that determines the status of prospective workers. Congress, meanwhile, should get on with immigration reform to give honest, hard-working residents without documentation a realistic path to legal status.
Some state Senate Republicans are, in effect, admitting they went too far. It's encouraging to see them say they intend to fix their mistakes. They and their colleagues can do that by repealing the law completely and adopting E-Verify.
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