Alabama Bill Would Allow Tax Refunds to Fund Border Wall

A construction crew installs new sections of the U.S.-Mexico border barrier replacing smaller fences as seen from Tijuana, Mexico, on Jan. 11, 2019. Mario Tama/Getty Images

MONTGOMERY—Alabamians would be able to donate part of their state income tax refunds to help build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, according to a bill the state Senate advanced Thursday, March 21.

Senators voted 23-6 Thursday to approve the bill that would allow residents to check a box on their state income tax form and donate to We Build The Wall Inc., a nonprofit started by a veteran. According to the group’s website, the organization is focused on privately building portions of a border wall with Mexico.

“I think it’s a way for Alabamians to say to the president and to the nation that we think strong border security is important. We want to promote that. We want Washington to build that wall,” said Republican Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, who sponsored the proposal and is considering a run for U.S. Senate in 2020.

People work on the U.S.- Mexico border wall in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2019. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

President Donald Trump last month controversially declared a national emergency in the hopes of steering $3.6 billion more to border barriers than lawmakers have approved.

The Alabama Senate voted along party lines Thursday. The bill now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives.

Sen. Bobby Singleton, a Democrat, called the proposal a Republican “feel-good” bill.

“What about the Northern border? More people are crossing over the Northern border but you don’t want to pay them any attention,” Singleton said.

Alabama currently allows people to donate to about 20 groups and programs, such as cancer research and an organ donation awareness program, on their tax forms. The border wall organization would join those groups if the bill wins final passage.

Poll: National Emergency for Border Wall

Likely voters who support President Donald Trump welcomed the government shutdown and national emergency to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The president’s strongest supporters ... favor the declaration of a presidential national emergency if necessary to get the job done,” said Rasmussen Reports this week.

Rasmussen, the polling agency favored by President Trump, said it found that “voters don’t think Democrats will ever okay funding for President Trump’s border wall.”

Demonstrators chanted “Build the wall” and formed a “human wall” at the border between Sunland Park, New Mexico, United States, and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on Feb. 9, 2019. Herika Martinez/AFP/Getty Images

Meanwhile, 42 percent of likely voters favor the declaration of a national emergency to fund the border wall if Congress fails to pass a spending measure for it, the pollster said, adding that it’s up about 3 percentage points from a month ago.

Rasmussen polled 1,000 likely voters on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, days before Trump declared a national emergency to fund the wall.

Meanwhile, on Feb. 15, Rasmussen found that 50 percent of likely U.S. voters approve of President Trump’s job performance, while 49 percent disapprove.

President Donald Trump at a Make America Great Again rally in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 11, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

The pollster noted that on Feb. 15, 2011, during President Obama’s first term, 48 percent of voters approved of the job the former president was doing.

“Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average basis,” said Rasmussen.

The Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report.