Kansas Senate OKs Immigration Bill

Thursday March 27, 4:29 pm ET
By Carl Manning, Associated Press Writer

Kansas Senate Passes Bill Dealing With Illegal Immigration

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- After a debate that ended in the early morning, the Senate passed a bill Thursday dealing with illegal immigration and sent it to the House, which planned to take up its version later in the day.
The 40-0 vote was among the first items the Senate took up after ending some seven hours of debate about 12:45 a.m. Thursday. Most of the debate centered on trying to return the bill to its original form, which backers said was a stronger version.

Since the two chambers have different versions, the final immigration bill will be worked out in the coming days by House and Senate negotiators.

Among other things, the Senate bill makes it a crime to use false identification to get a job, engage in human trafficking or coerce workers. It also creates an illegal immigration enforcement unit within the attorney general's office.

The bill makes hiring illegal immigrants a civil offense for businesses. Courts could order employers to stop hiring illegal workers and the employer could be fined or jailed for contempt of court if it doesn't comply with the order.

It also prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits except those mandated by the federal government. State officials say that already is the case but it's not required by law.

"It's a good bill. It has very strong enforcement provisions that were not part of the original bill," said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, an Independence Republican.

But other senators felt the bill didn't go far enough and are hoping it can be strengthened when House and Senate negotiators begin their work.

"The Kansas Legislature could be an enabler to illegal immigration if we pass a weak bill. As other states enact tougher legislation, Kansas will become a sanctuary state," said Sen. Jim Barnett, an Emporia Republican who led the fight to return to the original bill.

Sen. Tim Huelskamp, a Fowler Republican, added: "We'll maintain a catch and release program. This bill does very little."

Dealing with illegal immigration has been high on the agenda of many legislators, who say they are responding to constituents' concerns about the increased number of illegal immigrants in Kansas. Some estimates put the number at 90,000.

Senators voted 27-12 Wednesday night to reject the original bill. It would have required employers to use the federal E-Verify database to determine whether workers are in the country legally and would have imposed penalties including loss of business licenses for repeat offenders.

The reworked bill removed the E-Verify requirements and penalties but allows businesses that voluntarily use E-Verify to use it as a defense in a lawsuit if a person who cleared the system is an illegal immigrant.

The original bill was criticized by a coalition of 36 business groups, including the Kansas Chamber, Kansas Farm Bureau and Kansas Livestock Association, that balked at mandatory E-Verify and penalties. It said those requirements would be an undue hardship on employers and force them to be immigration police.

Among those supporting the original version was Sen. Peggy Palmer, who introduced it along with other senators. The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee rewrote her measure to make it more palatable to business groups.

"Citizens of the state are demanding we do something because they are frightened. They know we are a sanctuary state," the Augusta Republican said Wednesday night. "They are coming here and taking our jobs and using our welfare dollars."

Senators also rejected efforts to repeal a 2004 law granting lower, in-state tuition to illegal immigrants attending state colleges or universities if they graduated from high school and are seeking legal status. The vote was 25-14 against the amendment. Efforts to repeal the law have failed numerous times in the Legislature.

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