Thread: Government delays might strengthen immigration law

Government delays might strengthen immigration law
Coastal Empire | Intown
Kirsten Singleton | Sunday, September 30, 2007 at 12:30 am


COLUMBIA, S.C. - Lack of action on state and federal immigration legislation this past year might mean South Carolina will get a tougher law within a few months.

State Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, said it still would be best if the federal government passed a comprehensive bill to address how to deal with the estimated 12 million immigrants living in the United States illegally, and how to stop others from crossing the border.

Moreover, he would have preferred to have seen the bill he sponsored get through the S.C. General Assembly last session.

But, Ritchie said he's confident the S.C. Legislature will pass "strong, comprehensive" immigration reform this year.

Stronger even, he said, than what's already been proposed.

"When I speak to people around the state, it is the No. 1 issue on their mind," Ritchie said.

To date:


No go in Congress

Federal legislation backed by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., failed in Congress last June over concerns that it provided amnesty for undocumented workers.

Political analysts think the issue likely is dead now until after the November 2008 election - conventional wisdom that U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., acknowledges.

"But, you know what?" he said Friday. "My (constituents) didn't hire me to listen to those guys."

Barrett introduced a resolution this week that essentially says Congress supports enforcement of current immigration laws.

Realistically, the resolution has few teeth and would change little.

But Barrett hopes it keeps the issue on the table.

"It's our job to call on these people (those charged with enforcing immigration laws), and say, 'Hey, this is the law,' " he said.


Mutual non-support

In the state Legislature, the House and Senate traded immigration bills this past year, but didn't get them passed in both chambers.

The Senate passed Ritchie's Illegal Immigration Reform Act, and the House passed three more-limited bills.

But the House Republican Caucus has listed illegal-immigration legislation as a priority for the legislative session that begins in January.

"(Last session), most of the workable plans were submitted probably too late, and I think there was a false sense that the feds were going to do something as well," said House Majority Leader Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island.

Lawmakers haven't reached a consensus on some issues, Merrill said, but he said there is a determination to do a better job of verifying that businesses are not hiring illegal workers, increasing fines and finding some way to address how and when state law enforcement should detain undocumented workers.

It's a complicated issue, Merrill said, because "we would have to house, clothe, feed these illegals, not to mention just the time and expense of detaining them, all so the feds could eventually get around to processing them."

Ritchie is using the intervening months between the two legislative sessions to hold more hearings on the issue, meetings he thinks will lead to a tougher, more-comprehensive bill next year.

Specifically, he expects lawmakers to clarify that driving tests should not be given in other languages besides English.

The state Chamber of Commerce also has dropped its objections to the immigration legislation and has its own suggestions.


Local initiatives

While state and federal lawmakers wrangle, local government is stepping in.

Last week, Aiken County became the latest in South Carolina to pass its own measure aimed at curbing illegal immigration, despite concerns that the law - which requires businesses that contract with the county to swear they don't hire illegals - is unenforceable and open to a court challenge.

Councilwoman Kathy Rawls wants the county to pass still-tougher restrictions.

And she's willing to fight a court battle to get them.

"I think it's not totally clear exactly how far we can go under federal law," Rawls said.

That's one reason Barrett, Ritchie and Merrill think illegal immigration needs to be addressed federally.

Still, they applaud local governments' efforts.

"I think that they have a level of frustration with the inactivity by government, and that their residents are expecting them to act on it, and they're doing that," Merrill said. "I think we probably need to follow their lead."

http://savannahnow.com/node/367538

I think the state legislators in South Carolina get it. The most effective measure of the sentiments of South Carolinians would be to take Lindsey Graham out in the primary.