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Thursday, October 06, 2011

Ala. immigration law chasing needed workers from state, and locals don't fill jobs left behind

"Alabama's strict new immigration law was touted as a job creation bill, a way to force illegal workers out of jobs and open them up for legal residents. Early indications are the plan is backfiring," Phillip Rawls of The Associated Press reports.

"The law is driving away many construction workers, roofers and field hands who do backbreaking jobs Americans generally won't. So far, few legal residents have stepped in to fill any of the vacancies, creating an absence that will surely deal a blow to the state's economy and could slow the rebuilding of Tuscaloosa and other tornado-damaged cities." (Read more)

Meanwhile, the law is making Hispanic students vanish from Alabama schools, AP's Jay Reeves reports.

Update Oct. 10: John McMillan, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, suggests the state's worker release program for inmates may be a short-term solution to replace fleeing Hispanic migrant workers, Mackenzie Weinger of Politico reports.

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