The Impact of Legislation House Bill 56 on Immigration Laws and Construction in Alabama

Historically the United States has welcomed immigration from all over the world; from Ellis Island to the Statue of Liberty, whose iconic ?Mother of Exiles? is considered a symbol of hope to generations upon generations of immigrants. In the last few years there has been an increase in hostility towards immigration but more precisely towards unauthorized immigration. This has caused several states to enact anti-unauthorized immigration measures. States such as South Carolina, Utah, Alabama, have all followed Arizona, which was the first state to enact such a laws. Unauthorized immigrants typically vacate three labor areas, construction, food service, and agriculture. The following thesis tries to detail House Bill 56, which is Alabama?s anti-unauthorized immigration bill, and its impact on the construction industry in Alabama.

House Bill 56 was passed by the Alabama House of Representatives, the following research shows that it has negatively affected the construction industry in Alabama. Alabama has three major indexes that detail the overall ?health? of the construction industry. They are employment rates, Construction GDP, and Construction Spending. Since the passage of HB 56, all three construction indexes in Alabama have encountered significant negative changes. A survey of sub-contractors in Alabama shows that there is a negative construction labor pool, with most of sub-contractors blaming the passage of HB 56 as the culprit.