H.B. 56

Alabama House Bill 56 seeks to punish people who are present in the state without documents. H.B. 56 invites police to racially profile people during traffic stops by authorizing immigration investigations on "reasonable suspicion" that someone is in the United States illegally. The law puts officers in the position of relying on stereotypes about what an "illegal immigrant" looks or sounds like. The ACLU challenged H.B. 56 in federal court. The case, Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama v. Bentley, is currently pending before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Learn more about how H.B. 56 has affected all Alabamians >>
11/15/2011
H.B. 56

Some Families Flee, Others Stay Behind and Live in Fear

By Vesna Jaksic, ACLU at 4:50pm

During a visit to Alabama last week, many families told me that they now live in constant fear and are scared to go to work, school or the grocery store.

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11/08/2011
H.B. 56

For One Family, Alabama Anti-Immigrant Law a Fate Worse than Possible Death

By Vesna Jaksic, ACLU at 5:10pm

Last month, Luis Robledo accompanied a Spanish-speaking woman and her young son to a medical appointment in Birmingham. Both are HIV-positive and had to go in for a regular check-up. But she is an undocumented immigrant, and had become increasingly concerned about Alabama’s harsh anti-immigrant law. A couple of weeks ago, she took her child — a U.S. citizen — and moved back to Guatemala.

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08/25/2011
H.B. 56

ACLU and DOJ Argue Alabama Immigration Law Is Unconstitutional

By Molly Lauterback, Immigrants' Rights Project at 11:10am

The ACLU was in a packed federal district court in Birmingham Wednesday arguing, with the U.S. Department of Justice and the bishops of the Episcopal, Catholic and Methodist churches, that Alabama's new anti-immigrant law, House Bill 56, should be blocked because it is unconstitutional.

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