Settlement Reached to Block Key Parts of Alabama Immigration Law

A coalition of civil rights groups declared victory yesterday after two years of battling an immigration law criticized for being excessive and leading to racial profiling.

By Von Diaz Oct 30, 2013

Alabama’s HB 56, widely considered the toughest immigration law in the country, has been fiercely opposed since it took effect in 2011. The so-called "show me your papers" law has been legally challenged multiple times, but yesterday a coaltion of civil rights groups agreed to a settlement that will permanently block some of the most controversial provisions in the immigration law.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the following will no longer be enforced in Alabama: 

  • Requiring schools to verify the immigration status of newly enrolled K-12 students.
  • Criminalizing the solicitation of work by unauthorized immigrants.
  • A provision that made it a crime to provide a ride to undocumented immigrants or to rent to them.
  • A provision that infringed on the ability of individuals to contract with someone who was undocumented.
  • A provision that criminalized failing to register one’s immigration status.

In addition, the state is now required to pay $350,000 towards legal expenses for the coalition filing the lawsuit.