|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Immigrants on the State House steps Wednesday broke out into chants of “Aqui estamos; nosotros no vamos!” Translation: “We’re here; and we’re not going anywhere.”
Dozens of immigrants marched from Cramton Bowl to the Alabama Statehouse to make their voices heard to Republican lawmakers who have focused intently on immigration bills as Donald Trump pushes his mass deportation agenda nationwide.
Immigrants and supporters brandished signs with sayings such as “No human being is illegal” and “Mi papa trabaja mas que tu Presidente,” translation: “My dad works harder than your President.”
One woman’s sign tapped into the main message of the march: “We build your homes, cut your grass, cook your food, clean your buildings—all while being treated as second class citizens.”
Several speakers looked to the past to showcase the potential damage that could be done by anti-immigration bills, recalling House Bill 56 passed by the Alabama Legislature in 2011.
“HB56 was the most racist, xenophobic, anti-immigrant and anti-worker bill in the country,” said Luis Robledo of Jobs to Move America. “During HB56, there was an exodus from the country, a literal exodus. People ran away in fear. They lost homes, they lost jobs, they lost money, they lost their entire livelihoods and many people had to rebuild. And what did the people do? They came back, they fought and they won.”
Carlos Javier Torres of the Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama highlighted the “human smuggling bill” as one of the pieces of legislation immigrants are currently concerned about in the Statehouse.
“Imagine this: You drive from Opelika across the river to Columbus, Georgia, just to pick up your abuela so that she can visit with the grandkids for the weekend,” Torres said. “On the way back, you get pulled over, arrested and accused of smuggling an immigrant. That’s not justice, that’s not safety. That’s a law designed to intimidate and criminalize our communities.”
Torres also singled out legislation that he said is under the guise of a “workforce bill” but is truly an anti-immigrant bill.
“It forces employers to report when they hire hardworking immigrants, people who already have legal protections, people with (temporary protected status), refugees, folks with humanitarian visas,” Torres said. “This isn’t about protecting jobs, it’s about pushing immigrants out, and we won’t stand for it.”
Adam Keller of Alabama Arise highlighted the economic impact that immigrants have in Alabama.
“Immigrant workers fill 5 percent of all jobs in Alabama, even more in industries like construction and manufacturing,” Keller said. “Immigrant household income in our state is $7 billion, nearly all of which goes back into the Alabama economy through consumer spending. Pushing the mass deportation agenda will not only separate families and cause deep harm to those directly impacted, it will tank economic growth. It will lead to massive job losses, it will disrupt key industries, it will spike inflation and it will create even more a culture of fear in our workplaces and our communities.”
Immigration legislation is likely to remain a major focus of this legislative session, now halfway through its course.
