Thread: MISSISSIPPI - Immigration bill heads to House floor

Immigration bill heads to House floor

djournal.com
by Bobby Harrison/NEMS Daily Journal

JACKSON – The Mississippi House will vote within the next two weeks on a tough immigration bill patterned after the law passed last year by the Alabama Legislature.

On Friday, the House Education Committee passed the proposal and sent it to the floor of the House. It was passed earlier by the House Judiciary B Committee.

The proposal was before the Education Committee because of a provision that requires local school districts to verify whether their students are legal residents of the country.

The school districts would report their findings to the state Board of Education, which would file a report each year on the number of illegal immigrants being educated by the state.

Rep. Toby Barker, R-Hattiesburg, unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill to take out that provision.

Barker said he supported much of the bill, but was worried about “unintended consequences” and “unfunded mandates for school districts.”

He said many of the children were American citizens because they were born in the country. Yet, when the law was put in place in Alabama, “a lot of parents kept their children at home.”

Rep. Kevin McGee, R-Brandon, said the names of the children would be kept confidential and it would be a crime for them to be revealed.

Federal law requires all children to be educated.

The bill says a law enforcement officer, when stopping a person for a possible violation, such as speeding or jay-walking, should check for immigration if “a reasonable suspicion exists.”

Similar legislation is pending in the Senate.

Gov. Phil Bryant has been a strong proponent of legislation requiring local and state law enforcement to crack down on illegal immigrants.

The bill would allow lawsuits to be filed against so-called sanctuary cities that have a policy of not checking for immigration status.


source: djournal.com - Immigration bill heads to House floor

Bryant says Miss. immigration bill will stand up to federal challenge


Mar 03, 2012 7:50 PM CST

By Charles Herrington, Reporter

Governor Phil Bryant says he's confident a new immigration bill which just passed out of the House Education Committee will stand up to any federal challenge. It allows law officers to check an individual's immigration status if they're pulled over for an offense.

"I met with Governor Jan Brewer, I met with Governor Robert Bentley...we discussed what they thought was the better part of their bills," said Bryant. "We did away with the things that the federal government courts had had challenges with. This is the best immigration bill in the nation to control the illegal immigration. That's all it does," Bryant said.

Bryant also says the bill makes it illegal for any person to be profiled.

Immigration bill will stand up to federal challenge