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16 February 2012 Hundreds rally against Alabama immigration law In Alabama many citizens are gathering in the statehouse courtyard to rally against a “tough” new immigration law. People from across the state were bused to just to protest. They carry signs reading “Gov. Bentley, don’t you have a heart?” “No Juan Crow” and “Una Familia, Una Alabama” while chanting “no more HB56”. Legislative officials told Alabamians that they are making changes to the law. House Majority Leader Micky Hammon, who is in favor of the new revisions said the plans for the new bill are not major changes and will not soften the law. Zayne Smith, director with the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice stated “Tweaks are the only temporary Band-Aids, not a permanent solution”. While some say the law hurts the state economy, while cohorts exclaim it opens jobs for legal residents. People who have moved from California say they worry about racism. Some immigrants are having a hard time understanding why the state is targeting immigrants when in fact its purpose is to target illegal immigrants. Immigrant’s children have said that they were afraid of being asked for their papers at school. Meanwhile some say that the law is working in a way that may appeal to a wider range of people, In November to December the unemployment went from 8.7 to 8.1 percent. Meaning these recent laws has helped something. The upcoming changes are supposed to be brought up because of opposition from religious leaders, law enforcement, and others. Illegal immigration has been a problem for a while in the United States. In March 2007 there was an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. The greater part of them is from Mexico. In having illegal immigrants in a country it allows them to become undocumented taxpayers. The idea behind this is that they don’t pay income taxes and in turn taking in more services than they contribute to. Another negative effect of illegal immigration is schools educate about 1.8 million undocumented children. Previous laws include the Arizona SB 1070. This states that all aliens over 14 years old have to register with the government to receive papers on their legal immigration. If one fails to do so than businesses such as bars and others can crack down on the individuals that they suspect are here illegally. Other impacts that this immigration factor causes is lower wages for specific parts of the population, eventually widening the space between the rich and poor classes in America. Another issue immigration brings up is identity theft. This is when illegal immigrants use others social security numbers to receive fake work documents. All these situations show that it somewhat necessary to have laws to prevent these circumstances. This article stated that these immigrants from Mexico are in constant fear now that these new law changes are brought up, when in fact there is no reason to fear if you are here legally. These laws are being constructed because there are illegal immigrants in the United States and they are lessening the way of life for U.S. citizens. These are not racist laws. When one argues that these laws are against immigration it is simply not true. These laws are put in place to make sure people are here legally. Are illegal immigrants trying to avoid the fact that they are here illegally and covering it up by saying that this country is racist toward them? They are bringing up issues saying that this law has caused an economic disaster. This is simply not true. When one looks at the facts, it shows that the unemployment rates have gone down since the enactment of this bill. America is a country of immigrants. It is a ridiculous statement to say that it is against immigration or racist towards immigrants. Children are scared to have to go to school because of the possibility of the question of “do you have your papers?” may be asked, and the only reason for fear should be if they don’t have their papers. Immigrants should be proud to say Yes, I do have my papers. It is a great thing to live in this country and the fact that some are calling these laws racist are wrong because all they are meant to do is help the American people.
 * Summary **
 * Relevance **
 * Evaluation **
 * Questions: **
 * 1) Is there a sure way to turn all illegal immigrants legal?
 * 2) Why do some immigrants feel these laws are so harsh?
 * 3) Is it really wrong to do what is right for the American people rather than illegal’s?
 * 4) When these laws help state economies, why do some deny that they do?
 * 5) Are there more effects on illegal immigration than the few I listed?
 * 6) What is our country’s long-term plan for immigrants?
 * 7) How do we make it so that all immigrants want to come here legally?


 * Bibliography **

 "Economic impact of illegal immigrants in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <[]

"Hundreds Rally Against Alabama Immigration Law | Fox News." //Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <[]>.

"Illegal immigration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration#United_States]>.

"SB1070 - 492R - Senate Fact Sheet." //Arizona State Legislature//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <[]>.