Alabama Governor signs revisions to immigration law

United States, 22nd May: Alabama Governor Robert Bentley finally signed revisions to immigration law.

On Friday, Governor Bentley signed House Bill 658 to make current Alabama immigration law simpler and easier. Giving details about the revisions sought to House Bill 56 through House Bill 658, Governor Bentley said there were requirements to make House Bill 56 better than what it is now.

And that’s what House Bill 658 aims to achieve, he added.

Revisions to Alabama immigration law—As per the redesigned Alabama immigration law, all legal US residents as well as businesses will find relaxed rules.

Main aim of Alabama immigration law is to ensure that all wanting to live and work in Alabama must have legal authority to do so, the Governor added.

Businesses in Alabama will still be accountable for hiring legal US workers, Governor stated. Recent revisions to Alabama immigration law are the result of discussions with legislators over the last couple of months, Gov. Bentley affirmed.

Governor’s concerns about certain provisions- Bentley did not hesitate to acknowledge that the bill approved by the full US Senate was somewhat different from the changes agreed upon. In a statement made Friday, Governor Bentley said he had serious concerns with regard to a provision about Alabama schools in the original legislation.

He maintained that as per the provision, schools in Alabama are required to get immigration data from school students despite the fact that a similar section has been blocked by a federal court last year. He cited positive about the issue saying it could be re-addressed if and when the need arises.

Another issue on which Bentley disagreed was the provision calling for expansion of state funds to have a public database with undocumented immigrants’ names.

Why Governor signed the bill?--When asked as to why he finally signed the bill although it failed to include any of the changes suggested by him, Bentley said there were a large number of positive aspects of the bill that he could not let it go unsigned.

So, he was unwilling to let go all the progress made on the law, he affirmed. He concluded by saying that House Bill 658 does have majority of revisions suggested to make the bill simpler while ensuring its strength, he concluded.