SB 53 Alabama Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Crimes and offenses, crimes of concealing an illegal alien and human smuggling established, process for determining if a detainee is an illegal alien established

SB 53 modifies Alabama's existing laws against concealing undocumented immigrants and human smuggling by adding specific exemptions. It exempts attorneys from criminal penalties when transporting clients to or from immigration or government facilities, and exempts educators from penalties when transporting students on official school trips. The bill directly affects attorneys and school staff during work-related travel, removing potential criminal liability for these activities. The legislation is currently pending in the Alabama House Committee on County and Municipal Government (as of February 2025).

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced Feb 4, 2025 Signed May 22, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed → Enrolled · 2 edits · May 22, 2025

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an enrolled version, incorporating minor formatting adjustments and a specific correction to the definition of 'LAWFUL PRESENCE' to clarify that an individual is only considered unlawfully present if their status has been verified by the federal government. This change ensures that state officials cannot independently make final determinations on an alien's immigration status without federal verification.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on immigration enforcement, jail procedures, and employment definitions, with no changes to its overall applicability.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'LAWFUL PRESENCE' was updated to explicitly state that a person is only regarded as unlawfully present if their status has been verified by the federal government, preventing state officers from making independent final determinations.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and numbering adjustments were made throughout the text to align with standard enrolled bill procedures, including fixing a typo where 'invidual' was corrected to 'individual'.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Kitchens Concur In and Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 1053

upper

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 1181

lower

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 1180

lower

May 6, 2025

Introduced

Judiciary Engrossed Substitute Offered (Judiciary)

lower

Apr 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House (Judiciary)

lower

Apr 16, 2025

Introduced

Judiciary 1st Amendment (Judiciary)

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Judiciary)

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 96

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

Singleton motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 95

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Introduced

Singleton 1st Amendment Offered

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

Kitchens motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 92

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Introduced

Kitchens 1st Substitute Offered

upper

Feb 5, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (County and Municipal Government)

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors