Tagged: Alabama immigration law

Immigrants and their backers are planning a rally and march in Birmingham to show their support for changes in federal immigrations laws.

Organizers say they are expecting hundreds of people for a demonstration planned for Wednesday evening in a downtown park.

The Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice says one goal of the protest is to show U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions that Alabamians support immigration reform.

Sessions is among the Republican opponents of legislation that critics say amounts to amnesty for people living in the country illegally.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Monday in a case about whether states can force people to prove their U.S. citizenship before registering to vote.

At issue is the legality of Arizona's voter-approved requirement that prospective voters document their U.S. citizenship in order to use a federal registration form that doesn't require such proof.

A federal appeals court threw out that part of Arizona's Proposition 200.

The state of Alabama says it will allow hundreds of immigrants to take driver license tests under a new Obama administration rule.

While the state has fought the administration over immigration laws, it says it will honor certifications granted under the program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

A state trooper spokesman, Sgt. Steven Jarrett, says certain offices will begin issuing licenses under the program on Friday.

The state says 631 people have been approved for certification in Alabama, and as many as 1,500 could be.

A coalition of civil rights organizations is suing to stop part of Alabama's immigration law requiring officials to post lists of illegal immigrants in the state's court system online.

The federal court suit was filed Thursday on behalf of four Latinos in Montgomery County who were accused of fishing without a state fishing license.

Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Kristi Graunke says the law is designed to humiliate and make life difficult for immigrants regardless of their status.

The state of Alabama is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review part of its law cracking down on illegal immigration.

The state asked the judges Tuesday to review a section of the law that makes it a crime to assist, harbor or transport anyone who's in the country illegally.

Opponents of the law have called the section inhumane, but the state says it doesn't conflict with federal law. It also says the justices haven't reviewed a similar law in other states including Arizona.

ANNISTON, Ala. (AP) — Many state licensing boards have not yet complied with a requirement in Alabama's immigration law to verify the status of legal immigrants by using a federal database. A state official tracking compliance told The Anniston Star that few, if any, of the state's dozens of professional licensing board have been cleared to use the federal government's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements. The law requires them to use the system to verify that legal status. John Norris of the Examiners of Public Accounts says the applications are filed with the U.S.