From The Nation:
By Ilyse Hogue
October 17, 2011
With the Occupations sweeping the country, the failure of the jobs bill and an alleged assassination plot against the Saudi Ambassador, the shocking news out of Alabama in the last few weeks garnered little notice. So if you missed it, Alabama began implementation of a draconian immigration law (HB56), codifying a new era of fear and racism in our country. HB56 turns Alabama into a police state reminiscent of the old Soviet Union, making it a crime to appear in public without your papers in order. It requires proof of citizenship in routine transactions. Schools need to see papers for children and their parents before fulfilling their core duty of educating children. In moves worthy of a dystopian late-night B-movie, law enforcement is now required to stop anyone who “appears” illegal.
One hyper-real image making its way around the internet shows a sign posted on the door of a utility office demanding a driver’s license to pay your bill. Failure to show proof of citizenship, the sign warned, could result in termination of water services to your home. Punishment will now be meted out not only to people without papers, but also to those who employ, house or assist them in any way. A lawsuit to stop HB56 filed on behalf of Episcopalian, Methodist and Roman Catholic churches notes that“Alabama’s Anti-Immigration Law will make it a crime to follow God’s command to be Good Samaritans.”
On October 14, a circuit court of appeals blocked two sections of the law regarding schools and random checks of citizenship, but left the rest intact. Despite this late reprieve, damage has already been done. Through official reports, whispered stories and calls to a hastily set up support hotline, the human damage is starting to come into sharp focus. Two thousand children didn’t show up for school the day after the law went into effect—worried parents kept them home fearing arrest or separation. A man told the hotline his full-term pregnant wife was too terrified to go to the hospital to give birth. He said they would stay at home and hope for the best. Yard sales are a common sight, with locals picking through belongings of former neighbors trying to sell what they can before fleeing the state. Many won’t even leave their homes for groceries, and church workers are on overtime delivering as much sustenance as possible. Undocumented parents with children who are citizens face heartbreaking choices—a teenager giving up a hard-won college scholarship to remain with her family; a newly engaged couple choosing between being torn apart or living a life in hiding. (more…)
Filed under: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona-copycat laws, DREAM Act, Migrant Workers, South Carolina | Tagged: Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2006, famers, Good Samaritans, HB56, show me your papers | 1 Comment »
