Thread: South Carolina Senate Passes Illegal Alien Bill

South Carolina Senate Passes Illegal Alien Bill
Columbia, S.C., 02.18.2008
AP

South Carolina's attempt to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the state by requiring employers to confirm the status of their workers won't harm the economy, experts and the speaker of the House say.

``The way the bill is structured right now, I don't see a negative impact on employers,'' said Elaine Lacy, a University of South Carolina professor who has studied the state's Hispanic population.

Still, she said, there isn't enough precedent from similar measures around the country to determine whether the bill would reduce the number of illegal immigrants.

``I know that Bobby Harrell has said that one reason to pass legislation like this is it causes undocumented workers to leave,'' Lacy said. ``We're not sure that's the case.''

Harrell, speaker of the South Carolina House, said the bill would likely open up jobs for South Carolinians. The state has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation for better than a year. The jobless rate jumped to 6.6 percent in December, putting South Carolina behind just Michigan and Mississippi for the highest rate in the nation.

``You have folks in South Carolina looking for jobs and would take those jobs and improve the unemployment rate by 1 percentage point,'' Harrell said.

The bill also prohibits illegal immigrants from attending public colleges, bars them from getting state scholarships to private colleges, creates a felony for harboring or transporting illegals and allows fired workers to sue their employers if they're replaced by an illegal immigrant.

The bill passed the Senate last week and now heads to the House.

But USC economist Doug Woodward said the current economic downturn, rather than anything the General Assembly might do, may be driving some immigrant workers away. Construction jobs are the most visible part of the Hispanic labor force, he said, and those jobs are disappearing with the housing crunch.

``I think we're going to see a leveling off if not a drop overall in the immigrant population as a result of that,'' he said. ``The industry is in a down cycle, and that could lead immigrants to go where there are better opportunities.''

Lacy also said the part of the bill affecting government benefits has little to do with why immigrants come to the U.S. anyway.

``They come here because they need to feed their families,'' she said. ``And most of them who come here think this is temporary.''
http://www.wbt.com/news/details.cfm?article_id=35673

Everyone ready to go after SC?

and still North Carolina's Governor Weasly sits on his collective hands and does nothing. (except sling the door wide open to the illegal invaders, and raise our gas taxes).

Obfuscation & Conflation Alert!!!

Lacy also said the part of the bill affecting government benefits has little to do with why immigrants come to the U.S. anyway.

``They come here because they need to feed their families,'' she said. ``And most of them who come here think this is temporary.''

Illegal aliens are very aware of the smorgasboard of benefits awaiting them in America. They are also aware of what companies hire illegal aliens in the areas they decide to locate. Advance knowledge is provided ala the miltitude of Invader Advocate Groups and is an ongoing process once the illegal arrives. You would think a college professor would not have their head in the sand. But, more likely, this college oprofessor is an illegal alien advocate who throws out red herring statements to do the above...obfuscate and conflate the issue.

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Everyone ready to go after SC?

Yeah...let's do a push on the SC House!

Originally Posted by zeezil

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Everyone ready to go after SC?

Yeah...let's do a push on the SC House!

it's the Domino Theory...Georgia has fallen, areas of Virginia are falling, South Carolina is falling...North Carolina is now hemmd in on all sides with states addresing illegal immigration. They will crush North Carolina into action because IAs will (already are) coming in droves.