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The House Judiciary Committee is set to entertain passage Wednesday if a bill that would make it a felony to transport an undocumented immigrant into the state of Alabama.
SB53 has already made its way through the Senate, where it underwent several changes after people drew comparisons between the language of the bill and the Fugitive Slave Act.
Rev. Shane Isner of First Christian Church told the committee Wednesday that the bill criminalizes compassion.
“I worry that there are provisions of SB53 that are anti-Christian,” Isner said. “To criminalize, to make a felony of a pastor … transporting an illegal alien, that is the state prohibiting Christians from doing their duty.”
Allison Hamilton, director of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, told lawmakers that the bill could impact immigrants trying to ensure their US citizen children are not separated in the case of deportation.
“These children cannot return to the home country with their parents if deported,” Hamilton said. “They need double nationality to do that. In order to get double nationality, you have to go to your original country’s consulate, all of which are outside of the state of Alabama.”
Hamilton also noted that the law did not originate in the state and is already being challenged in court on its constitutionality.
Rep. Tim Wadsworth, R-Arley, signaled a possible new amendment to come to the bill, expressing concern that the bill could criminalize family members transporting immigrants to federal hearings outside the state.
A provision in the law allows immigration attorneys to transport individuals without criminal liability, but Wadsworth said attorneys don’t tend to transport their clients to court.
Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, suggested possibly changing the language to allow an “agent” of the immigration attorney to transport the person, which could extend to a family member or anyone the immigration attorney has conferred that authority to.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, said he is open to the amendment but wants to ensure it doesn’t “open Pandora’s box” and allow a loophole for the act.
If the bill passes, it will have a maximum of seven legislative days left on the calendar to pass the full House. If amended during the process, the Senate would have to concur to any changes or the bill could end up in conference committee for the differences to be hashed out.
