Holtzclaw, others favor early stages of proposed immigration plan

(L-R) Mayor Troy Trulock, Rep. Mo Brooks and Sen. Bill Holtzclaw. (FILE)

By Aldo Amato / Staff Reporter

The national push for immigration reform took a major step on Monday with local leaders and officials taking notice.

On Monday, a group of bipartisan senators in Washington D.C. proposed a plan to curb illegal immigration, grant a pathway to citizenship and complete immigration overhaul.

Sen. Bill Holtzclaw (R-AL) said that despite it taking awhile for federal government action, he is pleased that the topic of immigration reform is coming to light.

“I have always supported Alabama’s immigration law (HB-56) because if we didn’t do something in our state, our federal government wouldn’t be having to act,” Holtzclaw said. “So this is a step in the right direction.”

The new proposal opens the pathway to citizenship to almost 11 million immigrants currently in the United States and tightens border security along the Canadian and Mexican border.

The immigration discussion has been an on the tongues of Alabamians throughout the past two years. Alabama HB-56, widely considered one of the toughest bills in the nation, gained notoriety after Gov. Robert Bentley signed it and signaled a mass exodus of Alabama’s immigrant community.

Immigration Policy Fellow Zayne Smith with Alabama Appleseed said that despite seeing a trend in the local and national debate on immigration following an election, this bipartisan plan looks promising for the immigrant community in the state.

“I do think that if you look at the past and where we are right now, immigration comes up a lot following an election,” Smith said. “I do think it is a wakeup call and it is a serious attempt from a Republican standpoint and this is a good step in the right direction. My hope is that it will go somewhere.”

Holtzclaw agreed about the proposed plan that is still in its early stages.

“It is still to early but I am pleased at what I have seen so far,” he said.