Alabama Outdoes Arizona: Show Me Your Papers

Down in the heart of teaparty south, the same people who still, somehow, unironically think of themselves as warriors for "small government" have unironically passed immigration law which among other things:

• requires schools to become agents of law enforcement: requires schools to verify the immigation status of both children enrolling and their parents
• requires landlords to become agents of law enforcement: landlords can be imprisoned if they rent to anyone they even "should know" are illegal immigrants
• empowers police to engage in "show me your papers" checks

Let me see if I've got this straight. Helping out someone who is sick or unemployed? Socialism! Or worse, a step closer to soviet-style totalitarianism! Police state where everyone must be prepared to prove their innocence? Freedom, American style! Got it.

Southern Poverty Law Center's Sam Brooke sums it up:

Fundamentally it's our view that this is an un-American law. It's a law that requires people to carry identification on them at all times in order to prove that they're a U.S. citizen. It's a law that is making all of us a lot less safe here in Alabama.