Hispanic Lawmakers Protesting Alabama Immigration Law

By Andrea Salazar

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) reacted today to the arrest of a German national in Tuscaloosa, Alabama last week who failed to possess proper identification.

“This highlights the disastrous consequences of profiling as well as the potential threat to foreign investment in a state that enacts and enforces laws that lead to arrests of anyone who doesn’t speak, act or look in a ‘non-suspicious’ manner,” Gonzalez said.

The German Mercedes Benz executive was arrested November 16 for not having his driver’s license on him when he was pulled over for not having a tag on his rental car. He was released after a colleague provided the executive’s passport, visa and German driver’s license, according to the Associated Press.

Gonzalez and 10 other CHC lawmakers are in Alabama this week protesting what some experts consider to be the strictest immigration law in the country. In a statement released this morning, Gonzalez called the law “ill-conceived.”

“Let us hope Henry Kissinger doesn’t visit Alabama anytime soon,” Gonzalez said, warning that the law could result in the arrests of U.S. citizens.