New law raising concern for some in the immigrant community in Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — The Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ) is speaking out after a new law has taken effect this week. They said it targets the immigrant community, while others said it will keep Alabama safe.

A new law requires police to take fingerprints and DNA swabs of people they arrest. That’s if the person can’t prove their U.S. citizenship and are found to be in the state unlawfully. Sen. Lance Bell (R-Pell City) said it’s about keeping Alabamians safe. He originally sponsored the bill in the Senate.

“It’s just a way that, when [undocumented immigrants] get deported, they come back, some change their names,” said Sen. Bell. “And it’s a way to identify the people and be linking the crimes to together. And to be able to identify who’s doing what.”

But executive director of ACIJ, Allison Hamilton, disagrees.

“For people who are undocumented, it’s being treated like a criminal when you haven’t committed a crime,” said Hamilton. And to be clear, being undocumented is not actually a crime. It’s a civil offense.”

Hamilton said private information, like DNA, should be protected.

“There’s no reason to start taking personal data from people who haven’t even been charged or convicted. We all have the right to due process. Innocent until proven guilty,” she said.

But Sen. Bell said, for some crimes, DNA is already collected regardless of legal status.

“And so, there’s not profiling,” he explained. “There’s no selective enforcement. They’re already doing it. The jails are already doing that to us as it is. This really just adds illegal aliens to that class of people that are getting their DNA taken from them at the jail.”

Rep. Mark Shirey (R-Mobile) carried the bill in the House. With the new law, he said the state will be able to record DNA samples and solve crimes more efficiently.