The sponsor said the bill was intended to allow local police more opportunity to help federal agencies enforce immigration law.
Published: Jan. 28, 2026, 5:45 p.m.A bill to give local police and sheriffs a chance to have more involvement in immigration enforcement advanced Wednesday in the Alabama State House. The bill by Rep.
Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, would allow state and local law enforcement agencies to enter agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and any other federal agency “for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration and customs laws and the detention, removal, and investigation of illegal aliens and the immigration status of any individual in this state.” The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill on a voice vote after Democratic Reps. Chris England of Tuscaloosa and Patrice McClammy of Montgomery questioned Yarbrough about possible negative consequences. England said making local police responsible for immigration enforcement could lead to people being targeted and detained because of their skin color, because they don’t speak English, or because of where they work. England said Alabama lawmakers should be mindful of those issues at a time when President Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents has sparked protests and raised tensions. “I think that’s a great message to the rest of the country that Alabama is taking a step back, pausing and doing an analysis,” England said. “Lowering the temperature, and making sure that we’re not pursuing an immigration policy that turns American citizens into collateral debt.”His bill says, “A law enforcement officer acting within the scope of his or her authority under any memorandum of understanding, agreement, or other authorization from the federal government may arrest, with probable cause, any individual suspected of being an illegal alien.” Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, a prosecutor who supports the bill, said “probable cause” is an appropriate legal standard that makes it unlikely that people will be unfairly targeted because of racial profiling. Dozens of immigration advocates came to a public hearing on Yarbrough’s bill last week, including a Birmingham pastor who said his daughter, a U.S. citizen and honor student at UAB,because of the focus on immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, said he heard the concerns of the father and other speakers at the hearing that the bill would lead to people being wrongfully detained. But he told Yarbrough he did not think that was the intent of his bill.“You don’t want American citizens detained when they shouldn’t be. And you certainly don’t want them detained just because of how they look or if they’re of Hispanic descent. “And I know I don’t want that, and I don’t think that any of my colleagues in the legislature want that.” Yarbrough named the bill the the Laken Riley Act for the nursing student murdered on the University of Georgia campus in 2024.because the man convicted for her murder had been detained for being in the country illegally but was released before committing the crime. Yarbrough said the goal of the bill is to allow local police to work with federal agencies to detain and remove people who are in the country illegally and commit crimes. According to Yarbrough’s bill, current law allows the Alabama attorney general to enter agreements with federal agencies to assist with immigration enforcement. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement already has agreements to delegate some duties to more than 1,000 local police agencies nationally - known as 2879g) agreements - including about 50 police and sheriff departments in Alabama.Approval by the committee Wednesday puts the bill in position for consideration by the House. Mike Cason has covered politics and state government for AL.com since 2013. Cason has worked as a reporter or editor since receiving a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Alabama in 1986....
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