Labor brokers would have to turn over info on immigrants working in Alabama under proposed bill

by Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector
March 3, 2025

A House committee approved legislation Wednesday that requires the state to maintain a registry of foreign nationals who work in Alabama.

The House Judiciary Committee approved HB 302, sponsored by Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, that would require labor brokers to register with the Alabama Department of Workforce each year, and provide the department with the names of foreign nationals who are working in the state.

“We want to try and capture those individuals who are bringing labor into the state, and getting kickbacks, maybe from an employer, maybe from a staffing agency,” Robbins said when he introduced his proposal.

Those who violate the law could face fines between $500 and $5,000 — more if the state takes someone to court. Brokers could face criminal investigations and Class C felony charges, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $15,000.

The bill also authorizes the Secretary of State’s Office to revoke the license of the labor broker or a charitable organization for violating the provisions in the legislation.

HB 302 states that a “significant” number of immigrants are settling in the state to work in different types of businesses, such as manufacturing plants, or performing seasonal work in agriculture, and that “labor brokers” provide financial support for them. Transparency is needed, according to the bill, around foreign nationals residing in the state.

Labor brokers would have to determine the work status of each immigrant they recruit. They would provide the state with details about the businesses they contract with, as well as the workers placed with those businesses, plus info about the people sponsoring the workers.

The bill also imposes measures proponents say will ensure immigrants who receive social service benefits are eligible for them, and allows the state to fine and penalize those who don’t follow the rules.

Advocacy groups expressed concerns about how the bill misrepresents immigrants and immigration systems, especially in making the assumption that people without proper work authorization are receiving public benefits, such as Medicaid.

A separate section of the legislation states that immigrants who apply for social services, from food stamps to unemployment benefits, must then be checked against the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify their status and determine eligibility for public assistance.

Immigrants who apply for public benefits would provide a “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services” (USCIS) number or Alien Registration Number, along with info about their sponsors under the measure.

“Someone stated that undocumented immigrants were using USCIS numbers to sign up for Medicaid, which is completely false,” said Allison Hamilton, executive director of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, after Wednesday’s meeting. “There is no such thing as a USCIS number, and undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid.”

The bill could discourage organizations — staffing agencies or charitable groups — from assisting immigrants who have recently settled in the state.

Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa voted against the legislation, saying the bill targets organizations or vulnerable populations.

“Any time people are required to identify themselves in various ways,” he said, “it sometimes brings a target on them because there are some people who do not want them here.”

HB 302 will be passed on to the full House of Representatives for a vote.

The legislation is part of a suite of bills circulating in the Legislature that targets immigrants in the state. A House committee also passed a measure to endow local law enforcement with the authority to enforce the country’s immigration laws earlier this month.

Two weeks ago, the Senate approved legislation that requires local law enforcement to collect DNA and fingerprints for detained immigrants, a bill that prohibits transporting immigrants without status to the state, and a measure barring Alabama from accepting immigrants’ driver’s licenses issued from two states.

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.

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SUMMARY: A Mobile couple, Elizabeth and Joe Rogers, got married on Joe Cain Day, blending their love for Mardi Gras with the celebration. Joe Cain Day, which honors the founder of modern Mardi Gras, has been celebrated since 1967. Elizabeth, a long-time fan of the day, and Joe, who shares his name with Joe Cain, wanted their wedding to honor this tradition. Their ceremony was filled with Mardi Gras spirit, with guests dressed in festive costumes. The newlyweds concluded their celebration by parading through Mobile’s streets with the Skeleton Crew, paying homage to Mardi Gras’ roots.

Mobile couple gets married on Joe Cain Day in honor of their love for Mardi Gras

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Gov. Ivey commutes Robin Myers’ death sentence to life without parole, pointing to lack of evidence

by Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector
February 28, 2025

Gov. Kay Ivey will spare the life of Robin “Rocky” Myers who used to be on death row and would have eventually been executed.

Ivey announced on Friday that she had commuted Myers’ sentence to life with no chance of parole after he was convicted of capital murder in 1991 for his role in the death of Ludi Mae Tucker.

She said in a statement that she still believes in the death penalty but had reservations about Myers’ death sentence.

“In short, I am not convinced that Mr. Myers is innocent, but I am not so convinced of his guilt as to approve of his execution,” Ivey also said. “I therefore must respect both the jury’s decision to convict him and its recommendation that he be sentenced to life without parole.”

Myers’ legal team praised the decision.

“I’m not sure there are words enough to convey my joy, relief, and gratitude at learning of Gov. Ivey’s decision to commute Mr. Myers’s sentence,” said Kacey Keeton, the attorney who represented Myers in his post-conviction appeals.

She said that she had hoped Myers would experience justice and mercy one day.

“Today is that day. Life in Alabama prisons is hard, but Mr. Myers is deeply connected to family and friends whose love has sustained him. Now they, and he, will have more years together, unburdened by the terror that comes with a death sentence.”

She expressed her gratitude to those who supported Myers, to Ivey, and added that “our thoughts remain with the family of Mrs. Tucker.”

Civil rights groups and opponents of the death penalty highlighted Myers’ case for the last couple of years as an example of a person who should have his sentence of death stayed and urged the governor to use her authority to commute his sentence.

Tucker was killed in October 1991.  According to court records, Myers entered her residence to use the phone after he had been hurt in a collision. He got into an argument with her cousin and husband, eventually stabbing Tucker, who died at the hospital several hours later, according to court documents.

Myers maintains his innocence. According to court documents, Myers lived across the street from Tucker and said he never entered the residence, but the two would wave to one another.

One witness said that he saw a short, stocky Black man dressed in dark clothing coming from the area of Tucker’s home. Law enforcement arrested Myers after taking him into custody on a probation violation and began to interview him.

He was indicted in Tucker’s death in 1991, and a jury convicted him of capital murder in 1994. A jury recommended he be sentenced to life without parole, but a judge overruled the recommendation and imposed the death penalty.

Before Ivey commuted his sentence, Myers was one of 30 people on death row because a judge had overturned a jury’s verdict that would have spared their lives.

Ivey said in her statement that she had enough doubts about the case to commute Myers’ death sentence.

“For example, no murder weapon was found, and no DNA evidence or fingerprints or other physical evidence tied Mr. Myers to the scene of the crime,” Ivey said. “Although Ms. Tucker knew Mr. Myers and let her attacker inside the house, neither she nor Marie Dutton — the only two eyewitnesses to the crime — ever identified Mr. Myers as the assailant. There is also other circumstantial evidence, but it is riddled with conflicting evidence from seemingly everyone involved.”

Organizations that oppose the death penalty praised Ivey’s decision.

“It is amazing that Gov. Ivey has taken the time to examine this case enough to recognize how much doubt there is about Rocky’s conviction,” said Abraham J. Bonowitz, director of Death Penalty Action, an organization that advocates to abolish the death penalty. “Many of us are convinced of his innocence and we are grateful and hope that Gov. Ivey will give similar attention to Toforest Johnson and Tommy Lane.”

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.

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