Life in Alabama could soon become a lot more difficult for illegal immigrants if several bills passed today by the State Senate are signed into law.
Measures to verify the immigration status of individuals in the custody of law enforcement using DNA and fingerprint analysis, invalidate the drivers licenses of immigrants issued without proof of lawful U.S. citizenship, and impose a potential tax on international wire transfers were all considered by senators on Thursday.
State Sen. Lance Bell, a municipal judge and former prosecutor in St. Clair County, passed SB63 to require that law enforcement collect and submit fingerprints and DNA samples from individuals determined to be unlawfully present in the U.S. while in their custody.
“This bill comes from where, in Talladega County, several years ago, an individual was on trial. During that trial, a witness said, ‘Hey, you’ve got this guy charged under this name, but he’s really so-and-so, and I think he’s wanted for murder in California,’” Bell (R-Riverside) said.
“They went back, checked his DNA. Sure enough, he was wanted in a different name in California for murder. So that linked him there. Our Department of Forensic Sciences has a great [Computationally Optimized DNA Assembly] system and good database, and they are solving a lot of crimes on that.
“And this is just one more group of individuals to put into that that we already have available.”
That bill moved forward in a 24-7 vote. A contingent of Senate Democrats opposed all anti-illegal immigration measures considered.
State Sen. Wes Kitchens passed SB53, which would give law enforcement time to verify the immigration status of those in custody and charged with a crime. It also requires compliance with federal detainers.
State Sen. Chris Elliott passed SB55 to ensure that any driver’s license issued without proof of lawful U.S. presence is invalid in Alabama.
“If you’re an illegal immigrant using one of those licenses from another state, we’re going to say that’s not valid in Alabama,” Elliott (R-Josephine) said.
He noted that roughly 18 states issue such licenses which are typically limited to driving within their state. Elliott also entertained two friendly amendments, including one from State Sen. Coleman-Madison, who proposed to attach warnings about the license stipulation to all ‘Welcome to Alabama’ interstate signage.
That was eventually watered down into a notice on the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s website, but Elliott actually liked the idea in principle.
“I’d love nothing more than have a sign up that says, ‘if you’re here illegally, turn around.’”
State Sen. April Weaver (R-Briarfield) briefly introduced SB77, which proposes a fee on outgoing international wire transfers – $7.50 for amounts up to $500, plus 1.5% for amounts exceeding $500 to fund a newly-created Sheriffs’ Immigration Enforcement and Detainer Fund.
However, all revenue-originating bills must begin in the Alabama House, so it was carried over.
State Sens. Weaver, Kitchens, Elliott and Bell were among a group of state lawmakers that traveled to the U.S. Southern Border at McAllen, Texas last year as illegal immigration reached an all-time fever pitch under the Biden-Harris administration.
They began working on legislation that would have likely been extremely more aggressive if President Trump had not been reelected and activated a whole-of-government approach to eliminating illegal immigration.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
