The governor of Alabama has signed into law a tough new illegal immigration measure that requires public schools to determine students' immigration status.
Republican Governor Robert Bentley signed the measure on Thursday and says it is the strongest immigration bill in the country. Critics agree.
The new law will not enable schools to deny illegal immigrants an education, but it says there is a “compelling need” to measure the illegal immigrant student population because of the impact the cost of their presence can have on publicly funded education.
The measure will also allow Alabama police to arrest anyone suspected of being in the country illegally when that person is stopped for any other reason.
It also will be a crime to knowingly transport or harbor someone who is in the country illegally, and employers will be required to use a federal system called E-Verify to determine the immigration status of new employees.
The law is scheduled to take effect September 1, but rights advocates say they will challenge it in court.
Alabama is the latest state to adopt an immigration law similar to the controversial measure passed in the southwestern state of Arizona last year. The Arizona law would have allowed police officers to check the immigration status of anyone suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.
A federal judge blocked key parts of the Arizona law last year after the Obama administration filed a lawsuit against it. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who signed the legislation, has vowed to take the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. Arizona officials say the law is needed to crack down on violent drug trafficking they say is spreading over the border from Mexico.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold another Arizona law allowing the state to revoke the business licenses of companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The majority of the court's justices said states can control licensing issues.
Governor Brewer welcomed the decision, saying she was more “adamant than ever” that states have a role in enforcing immigration laws.
