MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House of Representatives passed State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough's (R-Trinity) Laken Riley Act on Thursday, bolstering the ability of law enforcement to combat illegal immigration.
House Bill 7 (HB7) would authorize partnerships with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and any other federal agency to enforce federal immigration and customs laws.
The bill is named after the slain University of Georgia student who was murdered by an illegal alien last year.
Under the bill, a law enforcement officer "acting within the scope of his or her authority under any memorandum of understanding, agreement, or other authorization from the federal government may arrest, with probable cause, any individual suspected of being an illegal alien."
The bill passed after significant pushback from Democratic lawmakers. House Democrats' complaints varied, but mostly centered around allegations that the legislation targeted Latinos and would further alienate the community by making them less inclined to cooperate with local law enforcement.
"This kind of bill would intimidate people from cooperating with law enforcement," said State Rep. Phillip Ensler (D-Montgomery). "So, if there's an investigation against a Latino person for robbery or murder, that all of a sudden, people who may have knowledge of that crime, who might have been an eyewitness, that this is going to scare them away from that."
Other Democratic lawmakers took umbrage with the general attitude of Republicans toward immigrants, both in state and federal politics.
"I would want to make sure that we're not profiling people," said State Rep. Mary Moore (D-Birmingham). "Because that's a great concern with the way this country is going right now, I just can't for the life of me, a country that is made up of immigrants. While I understand that people are committing crimes, but I would dare say that people who were born, raised on this land from shore to shore, probably commit more crime than anybody else."
The bill was amended in committee to remove a section that required law enforcement to try to determine a suspect's nationality. That portion was removed at the prodding of State Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa), who stated that it would likely render the whole law unconstitutional. The provision now requires law enforcement to make a reasonable effort to determine a suspect's immigration status.
House Republicans and leadership, on the other hand, expressed unanimous support for the legislation.
"I think there are a lot of good things that will be added to our code," noted State Rep. Ben Robbins (R-Sylacauga), whose district was rocked with immigration drama last year. "One we talked about at length is the data we're now going to have on who's in our jails, where they're from and what crimes they committed will also help us relate that information to ICE."
He continued, "I think it will go a long way in just keeping us safe and keeping everyone in our communities, not just safer, but feel[ing] safer."
Following the Democratic pushback, the body approved the bill by a vote of 74-26. As the 2025 regular session winds down, it will now proceed to the Senate for deliberation.
"As Alabama continues to deal with an influx of illegal immigrants that entered our state during the previous president's administration, we need to empower our state and local law enforcement agencies to protect their communities," House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) said following the bill's passage. "People who enter this country illegally and commit violent crimes have zero place in our society. This is a commonsense, pro-public safety piece of legislation that is long overdue in our state. I appreciate Rep. Yarbrough's hard work on this bill and am eager to see it signed into law."
"I appreciate Speaker Ledbetter and my colleagues for supporting this important legislation and taking a significant step towards protecting our state and her people," Yarbrough noted. "Laken Riley's death was tragic, and my goal is to help prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the state of Alabama. The bottom line is that this bill isn't aimed at vilifying immigrants – it's about the safety of Alabamians."
In addition to the enforcement provisions, the bill would also require local jails and detention centers to report quarterly on immigration-related matters. Local governments would be responsible for ensuring compliance with the bill's provisions.
It also requires officers to act in "good faith" while enforcing the bill's provisions in compliance with existing laws.
The bill would additionally:
- Allow state and local government employees to maintain information relating to the immigration status of any individual.
- Allow state and local law enforcement officers to transport an illegal alien to the federal government's custody.
- Allow local law enforcement to arrest an illegal alien based on his or her status as an illegal alien or for violating any federal immigration law.
- Create standard procedures for the intake and booking illegal aliens and foreign nationals in county and municipal jails.
- Require jails to honor immigration detainer requests issued by the Department of Homeland Security in certain circumstances.
- Allow quarterly reports by county and municipal jails regarding foreign nationals.
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