Governor Defends Immigration Law

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley insists the state's controversial immigration law is within Alabama's rights.

"All we're doing is increasing the enforcement of the federal laws that they're not doing," the governor said in response to a lawsuit filed Monday by the Obama administration's Department of Justice.

The lawsuit claims portions of the law, including the section that allows police to detain a person suspected of being in the country illegally, are unconstitutional and in conflict with federal law.

During a stop in Mobile on Tuesday, Governor Bentley also rejected claims in a lawsuit filed by Alabama churches. The lawsuit claims Alabama's immigration law violates the churches' first amendment right by making it unlawful to give an illegal immigrant a ride even to church or the doctor.

"There's nothing in the bill that criminalizes evangelism and humanitarian acts," the governor said. "That's not the purpose of this bill."

Governor Bentley was in Mobile Tuesday promoting Alabama's tax-free weekend.