Illegal immigration legislation: Why it failed

11:18 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 24, 2008

By Cynthia Needham
Journal State House Bureau

Senators Juan Pichardo, D-Providence, left, an opponent of the governor’s effort to crack down on illegal immigrants, and Marc Cote, D-Woonsocket, a sponsor of the E-Verify bill, attend a Labor Committee hearing last month. The Providence Journal / Connie Grosch

PROVIDENCE

The frenzied immigration debate that has engulfed Rhode Island politics and produced more legislative bills here than in almost any other state, ended with a thud over the weekend when a final proposal to crack down on illegal immigration collapsed in the waning hours of the 2008 Assembly session.

A controversial “E-Verifyâ€