人兽性交

The report 鈥� Alabama鈥檚 Shame: HB 56 and the War on Immigrants 鈥� features stories told by Latinos from across Alabama. They describe being cheated out of wages, being denied medical treatment and facing a growing hostility since the passage of HB 56. The report calls for the law鈥檚 repeal, citing evidence that it attacks the basic human dignity of all Latinos.

鈥淭he people in this report are the mothers, fathers and children living under a law that has given a nod and a wink to the worst prejudices harbored by some residents,鈥� said 人兽性交 Legal Director Mary Bauer, author of the report. 鈥淚f lawmakers are unwilling to repeal HB 56 鈥� knowing this is the type of misery they have created 鈥� we can only assume they intended to inflict this cruelty all along.鈥�

The 人兽性交 has challenged the law in federal court and will present oral arguments on March 1 before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

The report includes the following stories:

• A health clinic refused to treat a young girl due to her immigration status. Days later, she had to undergo emergency surgery.
• A family with young children lived in a home without running water for 40 days because their 鈥減apers鈥� were not in order.
• After asking to be paid for her work, a day laborer had a gun pointed at her by a boss who declared he didn鈥檛 have to pay her because she didn鈥檛 have 鈥減apers.鈥�
• Latinos who are U.S. citizens have reported enduring taunts of 鈥淕o back to Mexico鈥� and being treated with suspicion. One citizen described having to provide 鈥淎merican鈥� identification to complete a routine purchase at a store 鈥� simply because he is Latino.

Many of the stories were reported to the 人兽性交 through a hotline established for residents to report how the law affected them. By late February, more than 5,200 calls had been received since the hotline was established in September.

鈥淚t鈥檚 ridiculous to think you can solve problems this big with a few tweaks,鈥� said state Sen. Billy Beasley, who is sponsoring a repeal of HB 56. 鈥淭his law has created a world of hurt for our state. And this report shows HB 56 is just a mean-spirited law 鈥� period. I don鈥檛 see how any Alabamian can read these stories and say they support this sort of pain and suffering. It simply doesn鈥檛 reflect our values. We must repeal this law.鈥�

The report found that beyond any single provision of HB 56, the passage of the law itself may have been seen by some residents as a license to harass and discriminate against Alabama鈥檚 entire Latino community.

Enrique Corral, a U.S. citizen and Latino interviewed for the report, described the change he has seen.

鈥淗ateful people are hateful no matter what, but with this law they feel more empowered,鈥� Corral said. 鈥淚f I used to just spit on you, now I鈥檓 going to spit on you and kick you when you鈥檙e down.鈥�