A package of bills filed this past week before the Legislature, would give Alabama some of the toughest laws on the books in the nation against illegal immigration.

This is the second crack Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur has taken at putting some teeth in the laws of a state that is home to an estimated 250,000 illegal immigrants.

Hammon’s immigration package made it out of committee in the waning days of the regular 2006 session of the Legislature, but too late for a vote.

“It got out of committee last year, but it was so late and people dragged their feet and it didn’t get to the floor a vote,” said Hammon.

The legislator said three of the bills are from Gov. Bob Riley’s Plan 2010. He said they stand a better chance of passage this year because legislators’ constituents are demanding something be done about illegal immigration.

One of those who welcomes stiffer laws is Maria Taylor of Athens. Taylor, who is Hispanic, a U.S. citizen and civilian weapons system manager with the Army on Redstone Arsenal, has been an unofficial liaison with the Hispanic community for at least the last decade.

Taylor predicted there would be a “big time” impact on Hispanic workers here if the state cracks down on employers who are not requiring proof that aliens are in the country legally.

“Most people here are illegal,” said Taylor. “But the business owners (who employ them) are also illegal. If it applies to one, it must apply to the other.”

The bills

• HB 286 denies state economic incentives to employers who hire people who are in the country illegally

• HB 287 requires people applying for or renewing professional or commercial licenses to prove legal status.

• HB 288 requires immigrants 18 or older to prove they are legally in the country.

• HB 289 lets law enforcement officers impound vehicles of immigrants driving without a valid driver license, current vehicle insurance or proof of legal entry into the United States.

• HB 290, illegal immigrants would forfeit property when stopped for traffic violations unless the property were life-sustaining.