BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A bill prefiled by Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, would hand Alabama sheriffs and police broad new authority to arrest and detain people they suspect are undocumented immigrants, thrusting local forces deeper into federal immigration enforcement amid a national push under President Donald Trump.
The measure, introduced Monday ahead of the 2026 legislative session and pending in the House Judiciary Committee, directs state and local law enforcement to arrest individuals “suspected of being an illegal alien,” transport them to federal custody and comply with ICE detainer requests. It mirrors last year’s HB 7 — which cleared the House in April 2025 before stalling in the Senate — but arrives as federal immigration raids intensify in Alabama, including recent ICE operations in Birmingham that detained dozens during routine check-ins and truck inspections.
Civil rights advocates warn the bill risks turning everyday traffic stops into immigration checks, echoing Alabama’s 2011 HB 56 law that federal courts gutted for encouraging racial profiling and economic harm to farms and businesses reliant on immigrant labor. With ICE partnerships already swelling detention numbers — 82 truckers nabbed in weeks last fall — critics see Yarbrough’s push as local escalation of what they call an authoritarian drift, where small-town deputies wield federal deportation power without oversight.
The timing aligns with Trump administration directives expanding 287(g) agreements, letting local jails screen for deportable noncitizens, a program Alabama counties like Etowah and Marshall have long embraced. Immigrant communities in Birmingham, home to growing Latino and Hispanic enclaves, report heightened fear after incidents like the wrongful detention of a U.S. citizen at a Foley worksite, fueling concerns that such laws chill crime reporting and family separations.
Yarbrough’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The bill awaits committee hearings when lawmakers convene next month.