Greater Birmingham
Ministries, a multiracial organization of 20 different religious
groups, joined forces with the American Civil Liberties Union, the
National Immigration Law Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center
in a legal fight for immigrants’ rights against one of the harshest
immigration laws in the country. In a class-action lawsuit, the SPLC
argued that the law is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment
and will lead to racial profiling and unlawful interrogations,
searches, seizures and arrests. The faith-based organizations have
added claims that the law violates the First Amendment.
“This law interferes
with the free exercise of religion,” said Scott Douglas, executive
director of the Greater Birmingham Ministries. “It violates core
values of various faiths because it criminalizes acts of love and
hospitality.”
The law, signed by Alabama
Gov. Robert Bentley on June 9, requires police and schools to check
the immigration status of individuals and makes it a crime to
knowingly transport undocumented workers or for immigrants to pay
taxes.
