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Classrooms are missing students, produce is spoiling in the fields, and construction crews are short of workers in the state of Alabama since the controversial immigration bill HB 56 went into effect on September 29th. Originally slated for implementation in early September, it was delayed due to a challenge in Federal court. The Associated Press reports that last Wednesday’s ruling by Judge Sharon Blackburn leaving major provisions intact will likely be appealed by the Obama administration and plaintiffs in two other lawsuits. HB 56 is being called the nation’s toughest immigration law, allowing police to check the citizenship status of individuals they reasonably suspect to be undocumented, and requiring school officials to ask for proof of citizenship from all newly enrolled students. HB 56 also makes it illegal for a landlord to rent property to undocumented immigrants. Judge Blackburn blocked four more extreme measures, including one that made it a crime to harbor or transport undocumented people. Early this year the Pew Center estimated that 4.2 percent of Alabama’s workforce, or about 95,000 undocumented workers were employed in the state between 2009-2010. Even before implementation last week local sources reported the legislation drove a significant number of immigrants out of Alabama. The Alabama Huntsville Times last week reported on one member of the local Associated Builders and Contractors observing, “[t]here was a big misconception that there were long lines formed by Alabamians who wanted these labor-intensive jobs.” Alabama schools are also scrambling to mitigate damage done to attendance. The Alabama Department of Education recently released statistics analyzed by Politico, showing a dramatic rise in absences of Latino students coinciding with last week’s ruling on HB 56. Over 2,200 of them missed school on Monday, double the usual number.

GUEST: Maria-Elena Hincapie, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center

Find out more at www.nilc.org.