Contributor: Jean Hernández, M.A.,  Latino Outreach Coordinator, AIDS Alabama  www.aidsalabama.org

Can you imagine being too afraid to access basic health care services?  This is the reality for thousands of immigrants in Alabama.  Last summer, Governor Robert Bentley signed a sweeping piece of anti-immigration legislation that is considered by many to be the toughest and most comprehensive in the nation.  The extent to which HIV and other STI prevention and care efforts are impeded by this law is unknown at this time.  Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests the law is already having a negative impact on our Latino community.  For example, an AIDS Service Organization (ASO) in Birmingham, Alabama, witnessed a significant increase in the number of missed appointments among Latinos after the passage of Alabama’s immigration bill.  One undocumented immigrant who reluctantly showed up for his appointment stated that he had “prayed for weeks” to know whether he would be arrested and deported for accessing services at the ASO.  Health clinics that were previously filled with patients receiving health services have seen reductions in their Latino clientele.  Clearly, fear of immigration raids and unwanted police attention caused by this law is driving Latinos further away from regular contact with healthcare institutions, public health services, and other community-based organizations.

For more information on the effect of Alabama’s anti-immigration law on our Latino community, as well as efforts to combat the law, please visit the following links:

http://www.acij.net/resource/testimony-ad-hoc-hearing-november-21-2011

http://annistonstar.com/bookmark/16213784-Alabama-immigration-law-sparking-public-health-worries

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/11/alabama_top10_public_health.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-alabama-immigration-economytre8102qa-20120201,0,1000185.story

http://www.uschamber.com/reports/immigration-myths-and-facts

http://www.equalvoiceforfamilies.org/2011/seifert-alabama/

http://media.al.com/spotnews/other/Letter%20to%20Gov%20Bentley.pdf

http://blog.al.com/wire/2011/12/immigration_freedom_riders_bac.html

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2011/12/viewpoints_new_immigration_law.html

http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2011/12/jackson-lee-speaks-out-against-alabama-immigration-law-calling-it-a-civil-rights-crisis/

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2011-11-01/alabama-illegal-immigration-law/51031138/1

http://weldbham.com/secondfront/2011/12/13/birmingham-southern-college-faculty-comes-out-against-hb56/

http://www.leftinalabama.com/diary/9124/rep-pat-todd-working-on-bill-to-repeal-hb56