Alabama tried a stringent, Trump-style approach to undocumented immigrants in 2011 and failed terribly.

According to the Washington Post, HB 56, the Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, was signed into law back in 2011. The conservative bill was meant to make undocumented immigrants voluntarily leave the country.

Renting a house or giving a job to an undocumented immigrant became a crime. At the same time, police officers and school administrators were ordered to demand proof of citizenship from anyone that "looked" like an undocumented immigrant.

Meanwhile, Alabama businesses are still operating with undocumented immigrants. Although the state registers less than 10 percent of Latinos living in Robertsdale, it does not account for the trailer parks "saturated with Mexicans," according to 45-year-old resident Kim Byrd who spoke with the Post. Byrd also pointed out that there are numerous convenience stores in town that were bought by immigrants who do not pay taxes.

"They all work under the table and make [loads] of money," Renee Byrd, a farmer with Kim in Alabama, chimed in. "The poor white people who work around here are all screwed."

Republicans say that HB 56 did not fail, but that it was stifled by the Obama administration. "If you have the right to work, don't let anyone take it away," read an ad on a convenience store window in Robertsdale. "No employer can deny you a job or fire you because of your national origin or citizenship status."

Republican state Rep. Jim Carns, who has endorsed Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, says that HB 56 worked at one point.

"It was like 95 percent within the federal standards, but those standards weren't being enforced. We enforced them, and it worked for several months until the feds did their thing," he said.

"I'm told by a lot of the business people that actually live here that HB 56 did help," said Dean Young, a conservative activist. "I trust them, because if we don't stop the flow of illegal immigrants into this country, we're going to lose it."

But another resident, 75-year-old Roberta Payne, took a slightly more moderate approach than what has been at the forefront of the Republican national debate since Trump entered the lead in the GOP presidential primary race. She said HB 56 can only work if officials deport undocumented immigrants gradually.

"I've heard someone say, get rid of the bad ones - the ones that are killing, maiming, robbing, stealing," she said. "You make it slow and easy. You've got to find out who the people are and how long they've been there. You can't just send the people back."

Trump supports mass deportation, although he criticized HB 56 when Mitt Romney lost the 2012 election. Alabama held one of the biggest rallies for Trump's presidential campaign on Friday.

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