Wall Street Journal: Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said Friday that he and legislative leaders would work on a bill to make changes to the state's immigration law, considered the toughest in the country.
"We aren't going to repeal Alabama's illegal immigration law," Mr. Bentley said in a joint statement with House speaker Mike Hubbard and Senate president pro tempore Del Marsh. But "we recognize that changes are needed to ensure that Alabama has not only the nation's most effective law, but one that is fair and just."
Though he failed to specify what changes he and lawmakers had in mind, Mr. Bentley said the aim was to provide clarity to law-enforcement officers in charge of implementing the law and to eliminate "unnecessary burdens on legal residents and businesses."
The law has come under fire from critics, especially after the recent detentions of two foreign auto workers under the measure for failure to have a valid driver's license. Opponents said those incidents, along with negative publicity, threaten the state's ability to lure future international business.
The measure was signed into law by Mr. Bentley in June. Parts of it were blocked by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October, but key provisions—including a requirement that police check the legal status of individuals they stop whom they suspect of being in the country illegally —remain in effect.
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