Told You So; Alabama Immigration

I remember posting an article about the problems and the reasons I do not like this Alabama immigration law. Well people know that Alabama has auto plants from foreign countries. Alabama has Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz plants. Well some folks from Germany and Japan have been charged over this immigration law and some have been taken to jail. What a embarrassment.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/11/police_arrest_visting_mercedes.html

A german manager with Mercedes-Benz was pulled over in a rental car without a car tag. The manager had a German ID but that is nothing under this crazy immigration law. So he was arrested and taken to the Tuscaloosa jail and another person had to bring the passport to the police station and was released.

http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/16607233/article-Honda-worker-cited-under-Alabama-law?instance=home_lead_story

A worker from Japan working for Honda rolled up to a roadblock and showed his Japan passport and driver’s license. But with this law that was nothing. The person received a ticket under the immigration law. I was surprised he was not arrested. This was just a crazy story.

So judging these two stories you could say. All foreigners you are not welcome in the state of Alabama at all. If the police pull you over; you should go to jail. Alabama has recruited many foreign companies into the state and this law is starting to make these foreign companies second guess coming to Alabama at all. It also makes any foreigners thinking about vacationing in Alabama to think of another plan. All of this is just so sad. For any companies thinking about starting a business in Alabama. You know they are now thinking about going to another state. Why would you want to be harassed by our legislature who passed a bill a guy from Kansas wrote.

This law and the national press it has received is making Alabama a laughing stock again. This law is being compared to the civil rights movement and we should not be moving back; we should be moving forward. I am sure we will hear of more stories like this as we move forward and I hope our legislature will fix this next year. But I do not give my hopes up. Before I go here is one more article. Because of this law if you simply forget your wallet or purse or lose it. If you are pulled over by the police and have no ID; you go to jail. So far in Calhoun County several people have been put in jail just for forgetting a ID. Now I get it if you have a suspended license but if you are legal; why are you going to jail. And could you bring up a lawsuit. If I was in that situation; I would!

Article from The Anniston Star.

Proponents of Alabama’s tough new immigration law applaud the statute for targeting illegal immigrants living in the state. But the law’s first month of enforcement has, in Calhoun County, sent a number of U.S. citizens to jail, too. Calhoun County Magistrate Barbara Campbell said the dozen people charged locally under the law include both legal and illegal residents. “It’s everybody; if you’re out there driving, you better make sure you have your license and it’s valid,” said Campbell, who is responsible for setting bonds and court dates for every person charged under the new law within 48 hours of the arrest. “Because if it’s not valid, you can and will go to jail.”

“We are to make ‘a reasonable attempt’ to determine lawful presence” of a person that a deputy has first pulled over in a traffic stop or observed breaking some other type of law, the release states. “If it cannot be determined that a person encountered has a valid license, he shall be carried before a magistrate as soon as one is available,” the release reads. “As a practical matter, this means they shall be placed in jail.” Campbell emphasized that once a person is arrested and put in jail under the new law, he or she must remain there until Campbell can make time for the hearing, which has to happen within 48 hours of the arrest. That means a legal resident could remain in jail for as long as two days without chance for bond, the magistrate noted. “Because the arresting officers aren’t allowed to give them a bond,” Campbell said. “I have to do that.” As she mentioned before, Campbell said she has seen both legal residents and others she suspects are illegal come before her in the past month. “It’s a stressful situation,” she said. “I want to do the right thing; I want to do the legal thing.”