One of the problems with the law is that it depends on the feds on the backend of the process. For the state to prove their case, they are going to need cooperation from the federal level. Which they aren't giving. And then, do you think the state is deporting these folks back to wherever the fuck they came from? No. 9 times out of 10, or unless they really fucked up or have been previously deported, immigration picks them up and they get taken to a local immigration office, given a court date, and cut loose. That is if you can actually get immigration to place a detainer. Then they don't show up to their deportation hearing. And guess what? They're not showing up for their municipal court date either. Because they aren't going to get deported for a failure to appear either.
You're right... I agree with you on this, but according to the language of the law, the state doesn't deport them; they turn them over to the Feds. I can't disagree with the mess that follows. You're right.
Another problem is there is no quick easy way to verify somebody's residency. Sure, maybe you can't find them by name and DOB. But maybe the officer fucked up the spelling of the name, or the dispatcher fucked up the DOB. So you take this poor bastard to jail. Because afterall, it takes about an hour to get an answer from immigration on status when you send an immigration query to them. So hey, this guy turns out to actually be here legally. It's not just as simple as "Oh hey, my bad. You're free to go now."
Again, all good points... But, let's consider what happens in other countries for a second. I've been working in Europe (Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Austria and Spain) and Canada for years. If I'm ever stopped by the local police authority without my US passport, I go directly to their local jail. There's no begging, pleading, bargaining, nothing... You go to jail, and you don't get out until you or someone can prove that you belong there legally. Sometimes, you can call the local embassy, and they'll send a representative with a copy of your passport. Sometimes, you'll have to contact someone from your local office to get into your hotel room to get your passport for you. And, if you can't provide proof after a few days while sitting in jail, you're getting deported.
This whole thing is flawed on face value. I understand what this law should accomplish, but the way they wrote it is incredibly fucked up. They're basically asking officers to risk their asses civilly to enforce a law that almost guarantees that people will have their civil rights violated. And lawyers will annihilate those officers in court damn near every time. Bottom line is, at the state level, you simply cannot write a law in the way Alabama did without violating civil rights. The law is unenforceable, and will simply create a round-and-round-we-go in the court systems.
I agree to an extent, but that doesn't invalidate the e-Verify portion of the bill. In fact, it doesn't invalidate several portions of the bill. They can still be enforced without violating civil rights, unreasonable arrests or whatever else.