As I lay resting with my eyes closed, an Angel came to me and said, “You really think you know how bad the Alabama Immigration Law is, but you don’t. Come with me.” The Angel took me on a trip in my mind. It was terrible. I kept having to choose between actions that would take me straight to jail or straight to hell. As I traveled Highway 80 East from Selma toward Montgomery, it was 103 degrees outside but I was comfortable in my air conditioned car. Soon, I saw a woman walking slowly with a baby in her arms. The hot sun was bearing down on them. I immediately recognized they were undocumented immigrants, what the Alabama Immigration Law calls “illegal aliens.” I always thought aliens were beings from another planet, not human beings from another country. As I drew near, the woman started to stagger, almost dropping the baby. Every Christian bone in my body said. “Stop and pick them up.” However, I knew that I could get up to ten years for conspiracy if I placed her in the car and maybe another ten years for the baby. That’s twenty years. On the other hand, if the woman and/or baby died from the heat, I could go straight to  hell.

As I traveled further, I came upon a terrible wreck in a rural area of Lowndes County. A young girl of eight or so had been thrown from a car during the accident. She lay bleeding profusely. I knew it would be too late even if an ambulance came. I wanted to help but the bleeding girl was an “illegal alien.” If I put her in my car and took her to the hospital, I could get up to ten years in jail. If she died, I could go straight to hell. Then the angel said, “I didn’t make you to choose. You just faced the possibilities. However, if the Alabama Immigration Law is this bad on you, please understand that it is far worse for recent immigrants whether documented or undocumented. It can be argued that some of the things that happened on your trip are on the fringe of the law. However, the law was conceived and birthed in a bad spirit and such laws bring out the worse in human beings.

After I ceased traveling in my mind and the angel ceased talking to me, I opened my eyes. The angel was nowhere to be found. However, the fear and hurt and pain still lingered. I understood the powerful impact of this law a lot better.