It may be some time before the effect of Alabama’s new anti-immigration law is fully understood. More appeals are under way. The fight against this mean-spirited legislation is not over.
But at a number of Alabama public schools, the effect already is profound.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in Birmingham upheld key parts of the law, including the provision requiring public schools to verify the citizenship of students. On Thursday, reports trickled in about how Hispanic students and their families reacted to the state’s insistence that it will enforce this law with gusto.
As one principal told the Mobile Press-Register, “It’s been a challenging day, an emotional day. My children have been in tears today.”
In Decatur, school officials said 32 students withdrew from school and many others didn’t attend. Seven Hispanic students withdrew from Austinville Elementary. The scene was chaotic.
“Parents, students and the principal were crying,” Austinville Principal Beth Hales told the Decatur Daily. “It’s tough because you get to know the children and their families … I wish they would wait and see what happens before they leave us.”
In south Alabama, there are 223 Hispanic students at Foley Elementary. On Thursday, 19 students withdrew from school, and another 39 were absent.
“We have been in crisis-management mode, trying to help our children get over this,” Principal Bill Lawrence told the Press-Register. “They’re afraid.”
A greater number of Hispanic students are expected to withdraw from that school by next week, Lawrence said.
All across Alabama, newspapers are carrying stories of these young students — in most cases, young Alabamians born in the United States, the principals say — who are suffering from this misguided and hateful law.
That Larry Craven, the interim state school superintendent, says children already enrolled in schools won’t be checked, that only students who enroll after Sept. 1 will have to prove their citizenship, isn’t mattering to many Hispanic families. That Craven says all students must be enrolled whether they have the proper documents or not is carrying little weight with some of these families.
For now, those who want illegal immigrants driven from Alabama at any cost are getting some of what they want. Some immigrant families are leaving the state, officials are saying. But a terrible byproduct is falling on the shoulders of young Alabamians of Hispanic descent who deserve the same public-school education as any other Alabama student.
That principals are reporting their students are scared, their students are afraid, their students are crying about being pulled out of school, should make legislators such as Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, and Gov. Robert Bentley hide their faces in shame.
Beason was a sponsor of the bill that Bentley signed into law.
What would Beason and Bentley tell these young Alabamians? That their education isn’t important? That the state doesn’t care about them?
This is a dark day in Alabama. Beason and Bentley should join these principals as they counsel crying, scared students. They should see the damage from their handiwork.
The massive dust storms that swept through central Arizona this month have stirred up not just clouds of sand but a debate over what to call them.
The blinding waves of brown particles, the most recent of which hit Phoenix on Monday, are caused by thunderstorms that emit gusts of wind, roiling the desert landscape. Use of the term “haboob,” which is what such storms have long been called in the Middle East, has rubbed some Arizona residents the wrong way.
“I am insulted that local TV news crews are now calling this kind of storm a haboob,” Don Yonts, a resident of Gilbert, Ariz., wrote to The Arizona Republic after a particularly fierce, mile-high dust storm swept through the state on July 5. “How do they think our soldiers feel coming back to Arizona and hearing some Middle Eastern term?”
Diane Robinson of Wickenburg, Ariz., agreed, saying the state’s dust storms are unique and ought to be labeled as such.
“Excuse me, Mr. Weatherman!” she said in a letter to the editor. “Who gave you the right to use the word ‘haboob’ in describing our recent dust storm? While you may think there are similarities, don’t forget that in these parts our dust is mixed with the whoop of the Indian’s dance, the progression of the cattle herd and warning of the rattlesnake as it lifts its head to strike.”
Dust storms are a regular summer phenomenon in Arizona, and the news media typically label them as nothing more than that. But the National Weather Service, in describing this month’s particularly thick storm, used the term haboob, which was widely picked up by the news media.
“Meteorologists in the Southwest have used the term for decades,” said Randy Cerveny, a climatologist at Arizona State University. “The media usually avoid it because they don’t think anyone will understand it.”
Not everyone was put out by the use of the term. David Wilson of Goodyear, Ariz., said those who wanted to avoid Arabic terms should steer clear of algebra, zero, pajamas and khaki, as well. “Let’s not become so ‘xenophobic’ that we forget to remember that we are citizens of the world, nor fail to recognize the contributions of all cultures to the richness of our language,” he wrote.
Although use of the term often brings smirks, Mr. Cerveny said the walls of dust could have serious consequences, toppling power lines and causing huge traffic accidents. Although ultradry conditions in the desert are considered one cause for the intensity of this year’s storms, Mr. Cerveny pointed to another possible factor: the housing bust that left developments half-finished and unmaintained, creating more desert dust to be stirred up.
The Arizona Green Party continues to advocate for non-violence after tragedy in Tucson
ARIZONA – The Arizona Green Party is both saddened and outraged in response to the acts of domestic terrorism that plagued not only the City of Tucson this weekend, but our whole nation. Our hearts go out to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords as well as all the victims and their families, friends, and communities affected by this senseless tragedy. Our sincerest condolences to those lives that were lost devastatingly on Saturday and we hope for a speedy recovery to those beginning their healing process.
Nonviolence is one of The Ten Key Values of the Green Party. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace. Peace is not just the absence of violence; it is a willingness to resolve conflict in a constructive manner with a spirit of good will and respect.
Violence is never an answer. We, the Arizona Green Party, will continue to advocate for peace and non-violence in the wake of this tragedy in Tucson and everyday that bloodshed and brutality are replacements for compassionate dialogue and diplomatic action.
