Petty assholes.

Having trouble finding a date for the prom? Don't worry; under a bill that recently passed the Alabama state senate, undocumented teens might not be able to attend either. SB 256, the "Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act," takes steps to block employers from hiring illegal immigrants, gives law enforcement more authority to check immigration status, requires voters to bring proof of citizenship with them to the polls—and prohibits "participation in any extracurricular activity outside of the basic course of study" for K-12 students who aren't legal residents.

The Republican pushing this bill claims it is a "jobs bill", because otherwise he'd have to admit that it's just a petty culture-war vendetta against kids who have done nothing wrong. And there's nothing more disgusting than punishing innocent kids, whether the perpetrator is a Republican or Democrat (looking at you, Jon Tester).

Fact is, this is a backhanded attempt to force the children of undocumented immigrants out of the public schools.

Antonio Ginatta, the US Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch, who editorialized against the bill in the Birmingham News, says: "It's pretty clearly trying to intimidate parents of undocumented children [who send their kids] to school. Consider practically, how can you figure out who qualifies for 4-H and who doesn't? Who qualifies for chess club and who doesn't? The only way to figure that out is to ask for immigration certification. And the Alabama Senate could have just said that, but I don't think the Supreme Court would have allowed it."

Assholes.

