Alabama wants to be like Arizona, only worse

By Michael J.W. Stickings

And so Republicans keep up their assault on undocumented immigrants:

Republican Governor Robert Bentley on Thursday signed into law a crackdown on illegal immigration in Alabama that both supporters and critics consider the toughest in the nation.

The measure will require public schools to determine the citizenship status of students -- a provision not included in an Arizona law that has been at the forefront of actions by several states to curb illegal immigration.

Under the Alabama law, police must detain someone they suspect of being in the country illegally if the person cannot produce proper documentation when stopped for any reason.

It also will be a crime to knowingly transport or harbor someone who is in the country illegally.

This isn't just a racist, draconian law to crack down on a specific group of people and deny them the dignity and fair treatment they deserve.

As Little Green Football's Charles Johnson notes, it "explicitly violates the Bill of Rights's provisions against unreasonable search and seizure, by requiring police to arrest anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally if they can’t produce documentation — when stopped for any reason... That's right — in Alabama, you may now end up in jail if you're not carrying your papers, whether or not you've done anything wrong."

I know we're supposed to be civil and all, but can't we call this what it is? It's fascism. Brought to you, as usual, by the Republican Party.