A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Story and photos by Norman E. Hooben

The State of Alabama has taken a step in the right direction. SB-426, the Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2008 recently introduced by Senator Beason and others will address the illegal alien issues that our Federal Government refuses to enforce. The fifteen objectives of SB-426 are:

"Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2008"

1: Make it a crime for a person to transport, conceal, harbor, or in any way protect an illegal alien from detection from state or federal authorities.
2: Requires all employers to verify proof of legal status of all employees through proof of legal status through proof of AL driver’s license, AL non-driver id, or AL verified employee id.
3: Make it a discriminatory practice for employers to discharge a US citizen employee while keeping unauthorized alien employee that he knows or should have known such.
4: Restrict the eligibility requirements for scholarships, financial aid, and resident tuition to lawfully present aliens and US citizens.
5: Requires all agencies and political subdivisions to verify the citizenship status of all 14 yr old persons or older who may apply for state or federal assistance.
6: Require law enforcement to arrest and transport a person to jail if the law officer stops a person for driving without a license and the law officer cannot verify the person has a valid driver’s license.
7: Require verification of legal status of every person charged in a crime for which bail is required.
8: Deny bond of any person whose lawful immigration status cannot be verified.
9: Requires reasonable effort to be made to determine citizenship status of person charged with DUI or felony.
10: Requires all employers contracting with other employers to provide to the employer with which the contract is made proof of its employees’ employment authorization.
11: Regulate the creation of identification cards issued for employment identification by establishing who may issue the cards and who may be issued the cards (e.g. - U.S. Citizen, nationals, and permanent resident’s aliens).
12: Establish Fraudulent Documents identification Unit, subject to availability of funding, to investigate and apprehend people who sell or distribute fraudulent documents used for identification purposes.
13: Fine any person caught creating or possessing falsified AL verified employee id $5000 for each id.
14: Create new form of identification – AL Verified Employee ID.
15: Authorize the Attorney General to draft and sign Memorandum of Understanding with the US Dept. of Justice or the Homeland Security concerning enforcement of federal immigration laws.

Now if we can only get other states to adopt these measures it will send a strong signal to the politic elite in Washington that State Rights are still a part of our U.S. Constitution. But therein lies the problem; we should not have to enact fifty separate laws if the federal bureaucrats enforced the laws currently on the books. Those bureaucrats include the President of the United States…and his failure to enforce violates his oath of office!
Before I get overly excited about SB-426, I should point out that it’s only in its infancy here in Alabama and has yet to pass the legislative process. But there’s hope…
A rally outside the Alabama State House in Montgomery was held at noon Wednesday with flag-waving supporters and media coverage. I arrived somewhat late after my seventy plus miles drive to attend, and from all outward appearances the crowd of approximately eighty was very attentive to the enthusiastic speakers. All except one… a lone protestor walked among the attendees carrying a “Shame on You” sign.
So if you’re reading this and live in Alabama please call your state senator to support and/or co-sponsor SB-426. If you live in one of the other forty-nine states contact your local state senators and representatives to initiate legislation that mirrors that of Alabama’s “Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2008”. This is a step in the right direction!