Monday Musings

In preparation for my series of posts on expatriation, I spent some time researching immigration law globally.  There are some interesting policies out there, but even more fascinating is what the consequences - both intended and unexpected - of those policies have been or are turning out to be.

Alabama has been in the news recently because of its new law clamping down on undocumented immigrants.  (Find the full text here; the previous link takes you to Wikipedia, which I personally find slightly easier to understand.)  Although HB 56 was upheld in court this past autumn, it has been overwhelmingly rejected by the public even in Alabama.  According to the Center for American Progress, Alabama has 120,000 undocumented immigrants (equalling 2.5% of the state's population) who paid $130 million in taxes in 2010; in addition, Alabama's economy would shrink by approximately $40 million if 10,000 undocumented immigrants stopped working and the state could spend close to $2 million (if not more) to defend the law.

Because of the miracle that is the internet, a fantastic photo popped up on my friend Bethie's Facebook page just as I was discovering all of this Alabama nonsense.  How funny is this?

But then also not funny, when you stop to think about it.