A bill to create an Alabama law against human smuggling moved a step closer to passing today, winning approval by a committee after some changes to address claims that it would criminalize acts of kindness such as giving an undocumented immigrant a ride for medical care.

It is one of several bills backed by lawmakers who want state laws that they say would provide state officials more tools to complement President Trump’s promises to crack down on illegal immigration.

SB53 by Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, says, “A person commits the crime of human smuggling if he or she knowingly transports into this state another individual if he or she knows is an illegal alien.”

Opponents of the bill said at a public hearing last week that it would put families who cross state lines for medical care, court hearings, work, and other obligations at risk of prosecution. Human smuggling would be a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Today, the House Judiciary Committee added three new exceptions before approving the bill on a voice vote.

The exceptions, added in an amendment by Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, would apply to healthcare providers, such as ambulance drivers; people acting on behalf of religious and charitable organizations; and travel across state lines for governmental purposes, such as a court hearing.

Another exception already in the bill applies to educators, such as teachers or bus drivers who carry students across state lines on a field trip.

Kitchens supported adding the exceptions and said they follow previous revisions he has made to his bill since he first introduced it.

“We just want to make sure if we have more and more exemptions that it doesn’t create a lot of loopholes there, to protect not only the citizens of Alabama but also the people that are immigrating here legally and doing everything the right way,” Kitchens said.

Kitchens said he believes medical providers, such as ambulance drivers, would already have been exempt from the human smuggling prohibition because they would not know a patient’s immigration status.

The exemption for religious organizations comes after objections that the bill was at odds with Christian principles like the commitment to helping neighbors and strangers exemplified by the Good Samaritan parable in the Bible.

Members of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice were on hand for Wednesday’s committee meeting, as they have been at previous meetings on the bill and other immigration legislation.

Veronica Ayala of Jemison, a community organizer for the ACIJ, said the exemptions do not resolve the problems that the bill will cause for families who have loved ones or friends who are or who might be undocumented.

“I don’t think it takes care of the normal family living within Alabama who take trips outside of the state, who now have to question their family, their friends, their children’s friends if they want to go on a family vacation and invite some of their friends,” Ayala said.

The bill, should it become law, will cause problems for businesses and workers in construction and landscaping, for example, who do jobs outside the state and return to Alabama.

Ayala said it is disappointing that state lawmakers are not representing the interests of immigrants who have made Alabama their home for decades.

“There’s people that have been here 25 years, 30 years, who have made a living, who have bought houses, who have put their children through college, and they’re not dangerous at all,” Ayala said. “They abide by all the laws. They pay taxes. They’ve done everything.

“We are part of the community.”

In addition to establishing the crime of human smuggling, Kitchens said SB53 would give state and local law enforcement more authority to verify the legal status of people who are arrested and jailed for other reasons.

Kitchens said the bill has a purpose similar to the Laken Riley Act, the first bill President Trump signed into law during his new term.

That bill, sponsored by Alabama U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, expanded the mandatory detention of immigrants who are in the country illegally and commit crimes.

The Alabama Senate passed Kitchens’ bill in February.

Approval by the committee today puts the bill in position for a vote by the full House of Representatives as early as next week.