Free Republic

by John HillStand With ArizonaThe Alabama Legislature scored a huge victory on Friday, as Gov. Robert Bentley reluctantly signed immigration law H.B. 658 - after legislators refused to "moderate" provisions Bentley (and open-borders activists) had complained were too "harsh" against illegal aliens. Alabama's immigration law H.B. 56, patterned after Arizona's S.B. 1070, passed in 2011, and has been called the toughest state immigration law in America. But several issues were causing legal Alabamans longer lines to obtain state documents and foreign executives issues with being detained, and those provisions were fixed in the new bill. But H.B. 658 (PDF) also...

by John HillStand With ArizonaThe numbers are dramatic, although you shouldn't expect to hear it trumpeted on your evening news. It simply doesn't fit the media's narrative about "traumatized Latinos" and "crops rotting in the fields" that we heard all Summer long after Alabama's Governor Bentley signed their tough immigration law H.B. 56. What was really happening in all that time is nothing short of an economic miracle. As we reported last month, in the wake of tens of thousands of fleeing illegal aliens from Alabama, thousands of Alabamans were being hired - producing a sharp drop in the unemployment...

by John HillStand With ArizonaFederal District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn again refused to halt Alabama's tough new immigration enforcement law, pending appeal - this time turning back an "emergency" request by the U.S. Department of Justice and left-wing non-profits who advocate for illegal aliens. She upheld provisions which authorized police to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally if they cannot produce proper documentation when stopped for any reason, among other provisions. Blackburn said...that the law's challengers, including President Barack Obama's administration and civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups, had not shown they were likely to prevail in...

by John HillStand With Arizona For months, America has been told by left-wing non-profits like the Alien Criminals Liberation Union (ACLU), La Raza and LULAC, that Alabama's new immigration law H.B. 56, "targets Hispanics" and is "anti-Latino". Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn wisely ignored that rhetoric when she let stand (pending trial) the law's most critical section - having police check immigration status of individuals apprehended in a lawful stop or arrest. Well, the very first such arrest has now occurred since the Judge's ruling. And - surprise, he is not from Mexico, or any other Latino American nation. He...

by John HillStand With ArizonaHow significant was Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn's ruling upholding key sections of Alabama's H.B. 56 immigration law? Well, just ask the New York Times, which flipped out over it in their lead editorial: A federal judge has upheld most of Alabama’s new immigration law, the nation’s harshest and most radical attempt to harness a state’s power to find and punish illegal immigrants. The consequences for Alabamans will be serious — not just for the undocumented, but for their blameless citizen children, for those who are mistaken for unauthorized immigrants and for farmers and other business owners...

A Federal District Judge today upheld most of Alabama's new immigration enforcement law, H.B. 56. This ruling meaning those provisions are now in effect while lawsuits from parties as varied as the U.S. Department of Justice, ACLU, left-wing religious groups and - outrageously - the Mexican Government, move forward in her courtroom. Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn's ruling represents a defeat for Eric Holder, as the main provision was upheld. And it represents a major victory for the people of Alabama, for Stand With Arizona, whose attorneys helped draft the legislation, and for Americans in other states trying to pass similar,...

by John HillStand With ArizonaAlabama GOP leaders slammed Eric Holder and the Department of Justice for suing the state over H.B. 56, saying the Federal failure to secure the border and enforce immigration laws has compelled the states to act. And they showed strong defiance that they would prevail against Holder and his ACLU legal team. Mike Hubbard, the Alabama House Speaker said: “Make no mistake, this lawsuit will not undo Alabama’s immigration law. If the court finds problems with parts of the law, tweaks can be made,” Mr. Hubbard said. “But Alabama is not going to be a sanctuary...