Thread: States Have Already Passed Almost Twice as Many Immigration Laws as Last Year

States Have Already Passed Almost Twice as Many Immigration Laws as Last Year

AUG. 7, 2017


Annie Ramirez, left, and Jennifer Ramirez in July preparing to protest an anti-sanctuary-cities bill at the Texas Capitol. Credit Eric Gay/Associated Press

When Republicans in Texas passed a ban on so-called “sanctuary city” policies this spring, they appeared to be feeding on the momentum created by Donald J. Trump, who had made illegal immigration a centerpiece of his campaign. They were not alone. State lawmakers across the country are addressing issues created by immigration.

In the first half of this year, state legislators enacted 133 immigration laws, almost double the 70 passed in 2016, according to a new report from the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures.

That spike in activity is the result of a relatively subdued 2016. In the three years before that, states passed as many immigration laws as they have so far this year, if not more.

This year, the legislation touched on a variety of subjects, including budgets, education and two issues Mr. Trump has long focused on: refugees and sanctuary cities, which seek to help or otherwise protect undocumented immigrants from what they view as overly harsh federal laws.

Here’s a look at what state lawmakers were up to in the first half of the year.

An impact on budgets, law enforcement and benefits.

• 27 percent of the laws were related to budgeting. This legislation dealt with funding for immigration enforcement, immigration education, migrant and refugee programs, and other services.
• 21 percent of the laws were related to law enforcement, including those that addressed immigration enforcement, legal services or consumer fraud.
• 14 percent of the laws dealt with identification or licenses of some kind.
• 13 percent dealt with civics or education, including residency or immigration requirements for access to higher education or financial aid.

The remaining laws addressed immigrant health, employment, public benefits and human trafficking.

The persistent question of sanctuary cities.

At least 36 states considered dozens of bills related to sanctuary cities, with Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi and Texas passing laws opposed to them.

In Illinois, Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, has reportedly committed to signing an immigrant-friendly bill that places limits on the state and local police in immigration enforcement.

Governors vetoed nine bills related to sanctuary cities while 18 others were awaiting signatures as of the end of June.

Opposition to and support for refugees.

Bills related to refugee resettlement were introduced in about half the states this year. South Dakota passed a law limiting refugee resettlement in the state, while North Dakota undertook an effort to study the issue further.

Four states — California, Illinois, Nebraska and New Jersey — adopted resolutions in support of refugees, in opposition to limits on travel from Muslim countries or both.

Teaching civics.

Six states incorporated parts of the exam immigrants must pass to become citizens into their high school curriculums. (They were Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada and West Virginia.) Those states joined Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, all of which had already done the same.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/07/u...ype=collection

The result to states 'welcoming' them is that once they are here legally, they can then migrate anywhere they wish.