Arizona Republican governor Jan Brewer traveled to Alabama over the weekend, praising Alabama Republican governor Robert Bentley for passing the measure.
The Arizona Republican, who captured national attention after signing into law a controversial immigration law last year, slammed the media, saying Democrats have unfairly painted the law as discriminatory.
“That’s totally untrue,” Ms. Brewer said Friday. “The bottom line is we have to explain to people we are a nation of laws.”
“Why are we getting all the publicity? I think it has to do with Alabama’s past and the perception that people have of Alabama over the years that don’t live in our state and really don’t recognize the amount of progress we’ve made in Alabama over the last 50 to 60 years,” said Alabama governor Robert Bentley.
Ms. Brewer’s visit to the state comes as a federal judge and appeals court have already weighed in on the law’s constitutionality, blocking parts of the law, including provisions that would allow school officials to ask students about their immigration status.
Ms. Brewer is widely seen as the leading force against illegal immigration. A number of states — Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah — have followed suit, installing some of the nation’s toughest immigration laws. Alabama’s statute is widely viewed as the strictest in the country and has been challenged by President Barack Obama’s administration.
Arizona won Supreme Court approval for another provision of its law – similar to Alabama’s statute – that calls for employers to check the immigration status of their workers using a federal database called E-Verify.
Meanwhile, state officials are trying to clear up some of the questions through training that began only after the law took effect. The Administrative Office of Courts has sent memos and emails to judges explaining the law, and the Alabama Department of Homeland Security provided an overview for police in key counties throughout the state.
