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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joseph Rendeiro
jrendeiro@nclr.org
(202) 776-1566
Earlier this week, Alabama officials agreed to a settlement with civil rights groups resulting in the permanent blockage of the major provisions in HB 56, the state’s racial profiling “papers, please” law. Law enforcement officials will no longer be allowed to stop drivers “for the purpose of ascertaining that person’s immigration status or because of a belief that the person lacks lawful immigration status.” NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is pleased that the state agreed to this solution and applauds our Affiliate, the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!), which served as the main plaintiff in the case against the state and has worked tirelessly to put an end to this law.
“In light of the Supreme Court decisions on Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, we knew that HB 56 was on borrowed time,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR. “These anti-immigrant laws that breed discrimination and racial profiling are patently unconstitutional. It’s long past time that Alabama’s law, which was the harshest in the nation, goes the way of Arizona’s, South Carolina’s and Georgia’s—off the books and into history.”
“NCLR is especially grateful to our Affiliate, ¡HICA!, which consistently spearheaded efforts in the state to push back against the law,” added Murguía. “With the help of ¡HICA!, our allies at the Southern Poverty Law Center and a coalition of other civil rights groups, we’ve once again turned the tides on racial profiling in Alabama. And although HB 56 has essentially been gutted, we will continue to monitor the situation in Alabama to ensure that law enforcement officials operate within the parameters of the agreement reached this week.”
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