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Editorial: Immigration Considerations

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By Collin Gaston - bio | email

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MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -

Alabama's recently passed Immigration Law has been quite the topic of debate recently.  While we all agree that laws must be obeyed, we should also agree that things are not always black and white. 

There are valid arguments that illegal workers are taking jobs that otherwise would be available to Alabamians. However, would Alabamians even want these difficult, low paying jobs?

Whether we like it or not, these undocumented workers fill a key role. Soon, Alabama businesses may be forced to hire and train new workers, which costs money. And in these difficult economic times, it's money many businesses don't have to invest in higher paid labor.  In turn, that could lead to higher prices for the rest of us.

We challenge congress to ease the transition by creating better pathways to citizenship, reducing costs and cutting red tape. This would give undocumented workers the chance to join our workforce doing jobs some perhaps would choose not to do. When Alabama's new immigration law takes effect in September, if a majority of the currently available hard-labor workforce flees our state, we will also encourage our state legislature to enact and fund training for the jobs that will need to be filled by Alabama citizens.

We appreciate your feedback.

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