March 23, 2026

Under New Bill Alabama Police May Have More Immigration Authority

By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

March 23, 2026

MONTGOMERY, Ala.

A bill is making its way through the legislative process that will enhance state-level immigration enforcement.

The Alabama House of Representatives recently passed a bill called the ‘Laken Riley Act,’ named after a 24-year-old Georgia nursing student killed by an undocumented immigrant in 2024.
It allows state and local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws such as arresting and transporting people who are in the country illegally.

The legislation also allows Alabama law enforcement officers to transport those suspected of illegal immigration to federal facilities.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R), said the bill is a matter of public safety.

“When leadership abdicates their duty, it’s incumbent on us in the structure of the American republic in the 50 states for the states to step up and do the job to protect the people and be a firewall,” he said. “America is a land of opportunity, but we’re a nation of laws and faith and values, and those have to be reinforced.”

But not all law enforcement agencies are on board with enforcing a civil law. Others say they are already understaffed and this is a federal enforcement issue.

But more police agencies say that they agree with what the bill proposes to do.

During last year’s legislative session, Alabama’s House passed a similar bill, but it was not taken up for consideration by a senate committee.
The bill is modeled after one that Alabama U.S. Senator Katie Britt introduced into the U.S. Senate in 2025.
President Donald Trump singed that bill into law at the end of January last year.