Alabama immigration wrong on all fronts

A new state law in Alabama concerning immigration has taken protecting our nation’s borders one step past the line of acceptability in what many consider the harshest immigration law in the nation.

In the new law titled HB56, illegal immigrants will lose their ability to have basic necessities, such as running water or entering into a leasing agreement. This is all on the grounds that it will become illegal for companies to enter into “business transactions” with non-documented aliens within the state.

This law takes protecting national security to a new level of discrimination and invites nothing but xenophobic sentiments throughout the state and nation. By not allowing some businesses to provide services to undocumented workers, the law is cutting off some of life’s most basic needs.

For instance, the city of Allgood, Ala., began requiring verification of legal immigration status in order to receive city water service, according to a news report in The Guardian last week.

It amazes me that Alabama has come out so strongly against immigration. This sort of fever legislation is an attempt to block people’s access to running water. It is just plain sad that a state tries to fix the immigration problem through the complete societal cutoff of illegal aliens.

Not only is it a hard smack in the face to all who seek better opportunities in America, but it’s also bad for business. According to an Oct. 7 TIME article, there are around 186,000 undocumented workers currently in the state of Alabama.

What many in Alabama’s legislature seem to have neglected in their consideration is that aliens, illegal or not, pump money into the domestic economy and pay taxes either in the form of income or sales tax.

Not only is it a revenue problem, it will also create huge labor force issues. Along with legislation prohibiting businesses from employing illegal aliens, strict laws making it nearly impossible to live in the state as an undocumented worker translate to many immigrants being forced to move from the state, leaving their jobs behind.

In an already fragile economy, many private sector businesses are taking a hit. The Alabama agricultural sector is feeling the pressure caused by a major shortage of farmhands, most of which are historically Hispanic migrant workers.

Not only does Alabama’s new law hold a gun to the heads of thousands of honest and hardworking men and women by cutting off their access to some of life’s most basic necessities, it also drags on the state economy.

The only thing this law seems to do is make a loud and clear statement that undocumented workers are not welcome in the state of Alabama, no matter what the human or economic toll is.

With the federal government and court system now getting involved and weighing in on the issue, it will be very interesting to see how this becomes a key issue on a national political stage in the not-too-distant future.

­— ogwise@indiana.edu