A public hearing on a bill to increase the involvement of local police and sheriffs in the enforcement of immigration law filled a committee room at the Alabama State House on Wednesday.

The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee did not vote on the bill after the hearing, during which three people spoke in opposition to the legislation, saying it would lead to racial profiling and cause immigrants to be distrust police and be less likely to report crimes.

HB376 by Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, a Republican from Trinity, which is in Morgan County, says state and local law enforcement could enter memorandums of understanding with federal authorities that would allow them to arrest and temporarily detain people suspected of being in the country illegally.

Yarbrough said the federal government has abdicated its responsibility to enforce immigration laws and that the flow of people over the border with Mexico forces state and local police to do more to protect their citizens.

Yarbrough named his bill the Laken Riley Act, after the 22-year-old nursing student who was killed in February while jogging on the University of Georgia campus. The man charged in Riley’s death is a citizen of Venezuela who entered the United States illegally in 2022, authorities say.

Yarbrough noted that the Alabama National Guard has sent soldiers to the southern border to help against what he said was close to an invasion. He said his bill would empower local law enforcement to participate in the enforcement of immigration laws and hopefully prevent another tragedy like Laken Riley’s murder.

Yarbrough read statements from Colbert County Sheriff Eric Balentine, the chief of police in Trinity, and Jared Hudson, a former Navy Seal and founder of Covenant Rescue Group, which fights human trafficking, in support of his bill.

Rep. Tashina Morris, D-Montgomery, said it was not reasonable to accept that law enforcement could be trusted to properly use its discretion under the law and not target racial minorities.

“We’re going to sit here and act like we don’t understand the history?” Morris said.

Ana Ockert of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, spoke in opposition to the bill, saying it would discourage girls and women who are victims of human trafficking and domestic and sexual violence from seeking help.

“HB376 imposes stringent requirements for victims to disclose their immigration status, creating barriers that force them to choose between seeking help and risking deportation, in addition to shattering their fragile sense of security,” Ockert said. “With the knowledge that human trafficking is happening in Alabama, we should be encouraging victims to come forward.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can delegate to state and local law enforcement the authority to handle certain immigration functions under the agency’s direction through what are called 287(g) agreements.

But Jerome Dees, policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said he was not aware of such an agreement granting the authority described in HB376.

“HB 376 purports to give authority to local law enforcement to go out and arrest individuals on the basis of their suspected immigration status,” Dees said. “The bill does say that this authority would be pursuant to federal authority. I’m curious as to exactly which authority that might be. There’s no 287(g) MOU that currently exists that allows local law enforcement officers or agencies to go out and make arrest based on immigration status, and case law is clear on that distinction, as well.”

Dees noted a section of the bill that says, “A law enforcement officer acting within the scope of his or her authority under any memorandum of understanding, agreement, or other authorization from the federal government may arrest, with probable cause, any individual suspected of being an illegal alien.”

Dees said there is no clear guidance on when it’s appropriate for law enforcement to make an arrest based on that.

“You’ve already heard discussion today that is likely going to lend itself to increase the instances of racial profiling,” Dees said.

Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, chairman of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, said he expects the committee to vote on the bill next week.