Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

Alabama Immigrant Law Irks Business


Opponents of Alabama's new law marched in Birmingham in June.

MIRIAM JORDAN AUGUST 24, 2011

An Alabama law to tackle illegal immigration is coming under fire from some business leaders in the state, who say the measure is undermining Alabama's economy even before it takes effect.

Representatives of agribusiness, the state's biggest industry, and sectors such as construction, which is charged with rebuilding the tornado-hit city of Tuscaloosa, are reporting worker shortages because of immigrants already fleeing the state. The state agriculture commission says squash, tomatoes and other produce are rotting in the fields.

"We have a big problem on our hands," said Brett Hall, the state's deputy commissioner for agriculture and industry. "Farmers and business people could go under."

Their experiences mirror those of business leaders and farmers in Georgia, who have complained that a similar law signed in May in their state is driving away immigrant workers vital to farming, poultry, restaurants and other businesses in the state.

On Wednesday, a federal judge will hear arguments from a coalition of civil-rights groups that want the law blocked. The U.S. Justice Department has also sued to stop the law from going into effect Sept. 1, arguing that immigration enforcement is a federal matter.

Opponents of the Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act say the measure promotes discrimination, hurts business and will cost the state millions of dollars in legal bills.

But supporters of HB 56, as the bill is known, argue it will drive illegal workers out of the state, opening jobs to unemployed Alabamians. It would also save money spent on health care and education associated with illegal immigrants, they say.

"The intent of the bill is to discourage illegal immigrants from coming to Alabama and prevent those already here from putting down roots," said Republican state Rep. Micky Hammon, a co-sponsor of the bill. "We think it will help the economy."

Polls showed a majority of Alabamians favored the law when it was passed in June, after the state Republican Party captured a majority in Alabama's House and Senate in November. Several legislators had campaigned on the promise of ridding the state of illegal immigrants.

Alabama has proportionately fewer illegal immigrants than other fast-growing southeastern states. Its new law, however, criminalizes many aspects of illegal immigrants' lives, including being in the state as well as seeking employment there. It makes it a felony to use fake identification to secure work, a common practice among illegal immigrants.

HB 56 also forbids renting to illegal residents, transporting them or providing them shelter. It requires public schools to check the immigration status of students who enroll, even though schools must enroll everyone, to enable the state to tally the cost of educating illegal immigrants.

Based on previous rulings in Arizona and Georgia, U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn is expected to block some parts of the law, particularly one allowing the police to detain individuals who they have "reasonable suspicion" are in the U.S. illegally.

But business leaders and immigrant activists say Hispanic households, whose members often include both legal and illegal members, have been leaving the state since Republican Gov. Robert Bentley signed the law in June.

James Latham, chief executive of WAR Construction Inc. in Tuscaloosa, expressed concern about the impact of the exodus on reconstructing the tornado-ravaged region.

"We are seeing smaller crews, and work taking longer to get accomplished, due to less available workers," said Mr. Latham, who is also president of Alabama Associated General Contractors.

Agribusiness contributes $5 billion annually to the state's economy. Johnny Adams, executive director of the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association, which employs about 100,000 people directly and indirectly, said chicken farmers who supply large poultry plants were already hurting.

Alabama began drawing Latin American immigrants in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the state's overall Hispanic population has more than doubled to nearly 200,000 in the past decade, according to the Census. Illegal immigrants account for 2.5% of the population, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group, compared with 4.4% in Georgia and 6% in Arizona.

An illegal immigrant named Marisela said her days working at the Birmingham hotel that has employed her for five years were coming to a close. "If they won't keep me, there won't be work for me anywhere else," she said.

Indeed, the district judge is expected to uphold provisions of the law pertaining to business. For example, employers can lose their business license for "knowingly" hiring undocumented labor, and they will have to use E-Verify, an electronic system designed to check whether employees are eligible to work in the U.S.

Instead of expanding his peach farm and adjacent jam and basket-weaving factory, "I'm closing down on Sept. 1," said Hal Hayes of Clanton, Ala.

Echoing a point raised by farmers in other states, Mr. Hayes said that a handful of Americans who showed up to apply for jobs demanded that he pay them off the books so that they can continue to collect unemployment benefits.

Mr. Hayes, who has farmed for more than three decades, said, "We are going to lay everybody off and I am going to draw unemployment because the state put me out of business."


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903461304576526740948686416.html


..........what good are the teabaggers if they can't even help business ? sheesh! ..Driving people out of business
is SICK! ..and in these times ....unbelievable ..