Ala. state constitution says immigration should be encouraged
The Birmingham News noted in an editorial Sunday that the Alabama state constitution, written in 1901, says the state should encourage immigration. This may come as news to state legislators who recently passed immigration restriction laws viewed as the strictest in the country
Jul 31, 20207.9K Shares359.8K Views
The Birmingham News noted in an editorial Sunday that the Alabama state constitution, written in 1901, says the state should encourage immigration. This may come as news to state legislators who recently passed immigration restriction laws viewed as the strictest in the country.
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From The News:](http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2011/07/our_view_alabama_finds_itself.html)
“„Here’s one we didn’t see coming: using the 1901 Constitution of Alabama to mount a legal challenge to the state’s new immigration law.
“„Even though some of us have waded through the morass of the state constitution on seemingly countless occasions, we somehow missed Section 30 in Article 1: “That immigration shall be encouraged; emigration shall not be prohibited, and no citizen shall be exiled.”
Critics of the law noticed the constitutional problem and have filed suit, calling the new immigration laws unconstitutional because they actually serve to discourage immigration.
“„A lawsuit filed this month in Montgomery Circuit Court argues the new immigration law subverts the state constitution because it “has the opposite effect of ‘encouraging immigration.’” The suit seeks to keep the entire law from going into effect. The state attorney general’s office told The Huntsville Times it will defend the law “vigorously.”
State legislators say they will defend the law and are prepared for setbacks.
The law is already having the desired effect of driving immigrants from the state, while perhaps having the undesired effect of also leaving many businesses scrambling to find workers.
Hajra Shannon
Reviewer
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