State of Alabama Agrees Not to Publish “Scarlet Letter” List of Undocumented Immigrants
AP reports that Alabama has agreed not to enforce a provision of H.B. 56, its immigration enforcement law, which required state officials to regularly publish a list of people believed to be unlawfully in the country. Lawyers for the state and groups representing immigrants on Friday, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, filed a proposed settlement to a federal lawsuit that challenged the requirement. Critics had derided the public list as a “scarlet letter” that could subject immigrants to harassment and vigilantism.
For example, in November 2012, four Latino immigrants were arrested for fishing without a license – a misdemeanor. But under H.B. 56, if immigrants appearing in state court could not prove their legal status, they would have their names placed on an online list available to anyone. That raised concerns for immigrants in Alabama and possible further vigilantism among some Alabamians who believed they could harass, abuse and intimidate Latinos with impunity.
The proposed settlement agreement will block the final provision of Alabama’s HB 56 subject to legal challenge, which has been largely struck down in legal challenges. In 2013, the Supreme Court declined to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleveth Circuit decision in Alabama v. United States, which invalidated much of H.B. 56.
KJ