Mississippi Passes Arizona-Style Immigration Law

Updated: Friday, 28 Jan 2011, 11:37 AM MST
Published : Friday, 28 Jan 2011, 11:29 AM MST

(NEWSCORE) - Mississippi lawmakers have passed an immigration law similar to one passed in Arizona, giving local law enforcement the power to investigate the immigration status of anyone they suspect to be in the US illegally, the Hattiesburg American reported Friday.

People stopped by police who cannot show they are in the US legally could be jailed and eventually deported under the measure.

The measure passed in the Mississippi House late Thursday after a brief explanation and no debate. A similar measure was passed last week in the Mississippi Senate.

Arizona was sued by the US Department of Justice for passing its immigration law, claiming only the federal government has the right to enforce immigration policies and undertake deportation proceedings. Most of the law was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge, but the state appealed that decision. It is now before the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals and it is not known when that court will issue a ruling.

In a separate measure, the Mississippi state legislature also approved fining businesses that hire illegal immigrants up to $25,000 a day. Any penalties collected would be turned over to municipalities to pay for efforts to enforce the newly-passed immigration policy.

According to a 2006 State Auditor’s report, there were approximately 49,000 illegal immigrants living in Mississippi at the time.

Read more: www.hattiesburgamerican.com

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/im ... x-01282011