South Dakota works to create immigration law
Posted: Aug 30, 2010 6:59 PM PDT
Updated: Aug 30, 2010 8:10 PM PDT

Several months ago South Dakota joined several states in a friend of the court brief, supporting Arizona's stance on reforming immigration law.

A federal judge has since put Arizona's proposed immigration law on hold...but South Dakota is pressing forward with creating our own version of the law.

Tonight Attorney General Marty Jackley explains what South Dakota would do differently to get a new immigration law passed here.

While the federal judge's ruling denied the federal government's idea they have the final say in immigration enforcement, she did have a problem with the term 'reasonable suspicion.'

"She did say Arizona went too far and really the state of South Dakota is discussing what we should do in South Dakota," says South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley.

Jackley has asked South Dakota legislators to focus on what he says are two areas of concern.

The first that a South Dakota immigration law cannot add restrictions to the federal law defining legal status.

The other that public safety be at the forefront of the bill and not unnecessarily increase the likelihood of racial profiling.

"I think we can look at fixing that by making it a second offense then law enforcement can proceed with investigating," says Jackley.

Attorney General Marty Jackley says as U.S. Attorney he dealt with 62 illegal immigrant cases in 2008 in South Dakota.

While that's nowhere near the number dealt with in other states, it shows South Dakota does have a need for it's own immigration law.

http://www.ksfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=13070342