American Civil Liberties Union

“This,” said Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez, “is about real people with real dreams.”        

Yesterday, Perez joined the Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali and a distinguished panel at the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office to commemorate the 30^th Anniversary of Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court decision that guaranteed equal access to a public education to all children, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. In their remarks, Perez and Ali highlighted the stories of real people: the many children whose access to education—and their dreams—are being threatened as a result of Alabama’s HB 56 and other anti-immigrant state laws.  

Alabama and Georgia’s anti-immigrant laws are meant to force immigrants out of the country by making their lives miserable and could violate all residents’ fundamental civil rights.

Those were among the arguments raised today by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups during a highly anticipated court hearing in Atlanta. The attorneys presented their case in front of a three-judge panel in a packed courtroom at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley late Friday signed a measure that makes small changes to the state’s anti-immigrant law. The move came a day after he signaled he might veto the measure because he found two key parts unacceptable, including a "scarlet letter" provision that would have branded many law-abiding immigrants as criminals.

Despite his reservations, Bentley said he signed the measure to “remove the distraction of immigration” from a special session of the Legislature he called this week, and allow what he called “progress made in the legislation to move forward.”