Earlier today I documented the retreat that is beginning on the provisions of the Alabama immigration bill. Since I wrote that post, additional opinions have been posted by Alabama newspapers. For instance, The Anniston Star says that the law should be entirely repealed, not merely amended:
… According to the Center for American Progress, Alabama lost more than $130 million in taxes in 2010 that undocumented workers paid. How will these changes in the law make this up?
While politicians talk jobs, jobs, jobs, the state’s economy will contract by nearly $40 million if only 10,000 undocumented workers leave because of the bill. How will changes now help Alabama recover that revenue? (Don’t say unemployed Alabamians will take these jobs, because they won’t, as the latest edition of Bloomberg Businessweek makes clear.) …
And will these changes assure China’s Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group that Alabama is not a hostile environment and that it should go ahead with the $100 million plant for south Alabama? Rival states that hope to lure the industry are using this illegal-immigration law to their advantage. Will these changes undermine that strategy?
Unfortunately, what Dial supports will not be enough. Making the law less of a burden on Alabamians can’t make up for the damage done to the state’s economy and reputation. The best thing the GOP can do is admit it was a bad idea, apologize for problems the law caused and repeal it. Anything less will do little to undo the real damage.
Alabama already has both a Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facilities in the state. The politicians did not think through the problem that a state that has a perceived hostile and xenophobic climate will not only not get new plants, it will not get new investments into the plants that already exist. People who want to invest in a state and bring in executives to help manage the top levels of their investment do not wish those executives to be hassled. It does little good to argue that this is meant only for “illegals” when they can see the problems that the law is causing for its own citizens. The Press-Register pointed this out:
… In practice, however, the law appears to be loosening ties with industrial prospects and tarnishing the state’s reputation abroad. For Alabama to continue on this single-minded march, oblivious to any and all consequences, is not just naive. It’s dangerous.
It’s one thing for the state to stare down a federal judge or the Justice Department on ideological grounds, but it’s quite another thing for the state to wager the economy on the outcome. If we lose prospects, investment and jobs, we lose in a very big way.
Consider recent events:
* Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group, a Chinese company whose plant was supposed to be an economic savior of the Black Belt, is having second thoughts about Alabama — and it’s because of the immigration law.
* BBVA Compass cancelled plans for an $80 million tower for Birmingham. The cause, according to state pension fund CEO David Bronner, was concern over the tough new law on the part of the bank’s Spanish owners.
Meanwhile, fairly or unfairly, news outlets with international readership — from Bloomberg News to The New York Times and London’s The Guardian — are portraying Alabama as hostile to foreigners in general.
As the Birmingham News pointed out in an editorial, Republican principles were actually violated in the passing of this law:
Much of what this law does is against the very conservative principles Republicans like Hubbard and Marsh claim to favor — less government, no unfunded mandates, commitment to family values, free-market economy. Being cruel should not be a conservative principle, but this harsh immigration law makes one wonder.
Finally, it is worth noting that some Evangelical leaders are denouncing the law, including the President of Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Pastor Carlos Campo. I should mention that this unversity was founded by Pastor Pat Robertson, former Republican candidate for President.
“We believe Alabama is a better place if they rescind this law,” said Campo. Regent University, a Christian school in Virginia Beach, Va., was founded by TV Evangelist Pat Robertson.
And, here are two more quotes from other Christian leaders:
The Rev. Danny DeLeon, senior pastor of Calvary Church in Santa Ana, Calif., said the law has caused “pain, sorrow and the breaking up of families.”
“I do believe this law is anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-family …”
There are several more quotes that I could print. Suffice it to say that not only are there economic, but also sound Christian reasons for opposing the law as written. It is time to repeal it.
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