Occupy Birmingham, Community Organizations to Protest H.B. 56

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alabama, Alabama, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) November 25, 2011 -- Occupy Birmingham, Community Organizations to Protest H.B. 56

Opposition to the undue influence of money and corporate interests on the country's politics has been one of the driving forces behind the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York as well as the hundreds of solidarity movements across the country. The same is true of the Occupy Birmingham movement, which plans to call attention to the link between corporate influence over state politics and Alabama's new, repressive immigration policy, H.B. 56.

On December 3, 2011 members of the Occupy Birmingham movement will branch out from their camp of permanent occupation at 20th Street and 5th Avenue North and gather in solidarity with numerous other civic and religious organizations outside of the Gadsden Detention Facility in Gadsden, AL. This collection of civic organizations will convene in their united opposition to Alabama's new immigration policy by protesting the detention of hundreds of undocumented immigrants at the prison.

Among the long list of objections to H.B. 56 is the underlying endorsement of racial profiling, the jailing of people for profit, and the frequent suspension of human and legal rights of a population already susceptible to abuse.

Considered by immigration experts to be even broader than Arizona's controversial S.B. 1070, Alabama's H.B. 56 allows law enforcement officers in the state to demand proof of citizenship from anyone they have a "Reasonable Suspicion" may be an undocumented immigrant. Both Occupy Birmingham and the other civic organizations agree that standard puts anyone of Latino heritage, even those who are legal citizens or immigrants, in the crosshairs of that suspicion. They also point to the destructive effects the law has already had on the agricultural economy of the state, leaving farmers across Alabama unable to find enough workers to harvest the crops that represent their livelihood.

City officials and local law enforcement have been working closely with organizers to ensure that this event will be a peaceful and civil day of action to protest an obvious injustice. Organizers promise updates in the coming days as the list of participating organizations grow.

Anyone interested in more information or participating in the protest on December 3 can find more details at OccupyBirmingham.org, seek them out on Facebook or email the organization at EqualityForAlabama@Gmail.com.

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