Some Families Flee, Others Stay Behind and Live in Fear

Since parts of Alabama’s anti-immigrant law, H.B. 56, took effect, many families have been fleeing the state in fear.

Cineo Gonzalez, an Alabama resident and a father of two, talks here about those who left in a hurry, including families with children who are American citizens.

"Their children are U.S. citizens and they are running away in their own country," said Gonzales, a taxi driver who has been receiving calls from many panicked families.

Please note that by playing this clip You Tube and Google will place a long-term cookie on your computer. Please see You Tube's privacy statement on their website and Google's privacy statement on theirs to learn more. To view the ACLU's privacy statement, click here.

Others stayed behind, but their lives have been anything but normal. During a visit to Alabama last week, many families told me that they now live in constant fear and are scared to go to work, school or the grocery store. From small cities like Albertville to the capital of Montgomery and in between, many Hispanic residents said they are now afraid of getting stopped by the police because the law encourages racial profiling.

"When the law passed, I didn’t work for a week," a landscape worker from Mexico told me. "I had fear because people said police will see your face and stop you, see you’re Latino."

The worker, who lives in Montgomery and has been in Alabama for seven years, told me he tries to only drive to work now, and is even scared to do that.

"We work to live," he said. "If we can’t work, we can’t eat and we can’t live."

The law affects not only the undocumented, but many legal residents and citizens as well. One high school senior told me his three siblings — all U.S. citizens — are afraid they will be separated from their mother, who is an undocumented immigrant.

"My mom just bought a home in May and she really doesn’t want to move," said the Birmingham area resident, who is 18. "She spent her whole savings trying to build this home for us."

He was born in Mexico but has lived in the United States since he was a baby, most of it in Alabama. He is bilingual, gets good grades and has a part-time job after school.

"They brought me here since I was one month old," he told me. "If I go back, I don’t know what I would do."

Learn more about immigrants' rights: Sign up for breaking news alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.