Alabama Worsens Immigration Law With HB 658 After all that talk about wanting to "simplify and clarify" last year's radically awful immigration law, Alabama's legislature doubled down last week. It passed a bill, H.B. 658, to make things worse. One new provision requires schools to collect immigration data from students - even though a federal court has blocked a similar section in last year's law. Another requires the state to publish online the names of all undocumented immigrants who appear in court. It's a scarlet-letter database to accomplish - what, exactly, beyond public shaming? It's hard to know, though immigrant advocates fear, plausibly, that it will heighten the risk of vigilantism. The bills" architects, Representative Mickey Hammon and Senator Scott Beason, have become heroes to the anti-immigrant right. But many moderate Alabamians had been urging lawmakers to step back from their fixation on anti-immigrant schemes, which they see as causing the state deep humiliation and economic and moral damage. The Birmingham News, which called last year's law "a terrible black eye" for the state's reputation, said the new one amounted to "another black eye and a kick to the ribs." It was up to Gov. Robert Bentley last week to save his state from another round of self-destruction. He had previously signaled that he didn't like the new provisions in the bill and might veto it. In the end, what did he do? Why, he signed it, of course, and called it progress. "In an effort to remove the distraction of immigration from the other business of the special session," Mr. Bentley said in a statement, "I decided to sign House Bill 658." He could have removed the distraction by vetoing the bill, but that would have taken courage. Mr. Beason later said he "couldn't be more pleased."