Alabama Marchers Step Forward to Fight for Immigrant Rights

March 8, 2012

From the Center for Community Change:

1,000 Strong Call on State Lawmakers to Repeal Anti-Immigrant Law

A contingent of 1,000 marchers today called on lawmakers to repeal Alabama’s vehemently anti-immigrant law during the reenactment of the Selma-to-Montgomery march.

Latinos, Blacks, civil rights, labor and immigrant rights groups all came together in a show of solidarity that racially discriminatory laws will not be tolerated in Alabama or any other state.

Among the marchers were 400 members of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) and 200 members of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ).

“I am among the many sending a very strong message to Alabama lawmakers that the state’s anti-immigration law, HB56, must be repealed,” said Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change, a member of FIRM. “This law has given police carte blanche to racially profile people. It has kept children from school and, forced hardworking families to leave Alabama costing the state $10.8 billion annually.”

“There has been one positive aspect of this law: it has brought together black, brown and white people, labor, clergy, civil rights, immigrant rights and human rights groups,” Bhargava said. “We will hold the state Legislature accountable for dragging Alabama back into its darkest days of discrimination. We will hold businesses accountable if they don’t speak up against this law. We will take this fight to other states thinking about enacting similar laws.”

The other FIRM members participating are: Alliance for a Just Society; Alliance for Immigrant Rights (Michigan); CASA of Maryland; Change Nation North Carolina; Churches United to Save and Heal (New York); Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (California); Colorado Progressive Coalition; Florida Immigrant Coalition; Gamaliel Foundation; Idaho Community Action Network; Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Make the Road New York; Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; National Korean American Service and Education Consortium; Nebraska Appleseed; New York Immigrant Coalition; One America (Washington); Pineros y Campesinos Unidos de Noroeste (Oregon); Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada; Sunflower Action (Kansas); Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, and; Washington Community Action Network.