Thread: States tackle immigration as national moves fail

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States tackle immigration as national moves fail
By Claudia Parsons Mon Aug 6, 6:30 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Frustrated at Washington's failure to tackle immigration reform at a national level, state legislatures are passing a growing number of local laws on immigration, according to a report released on Monday.

The National Conference of State Legislatures said state lawmakers had introduced roughly 2-1/2 times more bills related to immigration in 2007 than in 2006. So far this year, 170 bills have been enacted in 41 states, up from 84 in 2006.

"Congress' failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform has really forced the states' hands," Texas Senator and NCSL President Leticia Van de Putte said in a statement.

Last month the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to provide an additional $3 billion in emergency spending to beef up border security after lawmakers failed to enact broader immigration reforms championed by President George W. Bush.

Bush had proposed a broad overhaul to address the status of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. The bill, which would have legalized millions of unlawful immigrants, faltered in the Senate because some Republicans considered it amnesty for those who broke U.S. laws and who said it would encourage more illegal immigration.

The report by the NCSL said that by July 2, 1,404 pieces of legislation related to immigration had been introduced among the 50 state legislatures. The 170 that were enacted covered a range of areas from access to healthcare and education to eligibility for public benefits and voting rights.

FROM LANGUAGE TO BENEFITS
The range of bills reflected the divisions on an emotional issue championed by talk radio and bloggers across the political spectrum. Kansas, for instance, passed an act declaring English the official language of the state, while California passed a bill extending all public benefits to migrant workers.

Bush's proposed reform of the immigration system was a key domestic priority, but it met stiff resistance from his own Republicans before next year's presidential elections.

Many opponents said illegal immigrants took jobs from U.S. workers. But employers from Arizona to Texas argued that thousands jobs were going begging through a lack of takers.

In a test case last month, a U.S. federal judge struck down as unconstitutional a local city law on immigration.

The judge said the city of Hazleton, 100 miles north of Philadelphia, was barred from implementing a law that would have penalized businesses that hire illegal immigrants and fined landlords who rent rooms to them.

The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the law as unconstitutional because only the federal government has the right to make immigration law.

Vic Walczak, ACLU's lead counsel in the Hazleton case, said the judge's analysis on federal law trumping local law would be "equally applicable to state laws as it is to municipal laws."

Sheri Steisel, who directs immigration policy for the NCSL, said some of the state laws could potentially end up in court, such as an Arizona measure on employment that she said employers were considering challenging.

But she said state lawmakers were so frustrated at struggling with the problems that they were pushing through bills to fill the federal vacuum.

"Immigration is now a 50-state issue," Steisel said. "This used to be a concern only of the border states."

Of the laws enacted, 26 dealt with employment, for example requiring employers to verify workers' status. Eleven states, including Texas and Montana, passed legislation cracking down on human trafficking, including by imposing stiffer sentences.

Many opponents said illegal immigrants took jobs from U.S. workers. But employers from Arizona to Texas argued that thousands jobs were going begging through a lack of takers

My goodness, and I didn't know this country was at a standstill - until we were rescued.

I don't think employers are as concerned with creating jobs for Americans as they are of CREATING MORE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEMSELVES!!! After all, any current employer is completely free to go work for somebody else. I think this would be better than breaking the law, don't you?

Life is hard. People who don't play by the rules make it harder on others.

Been looking for news articles tonight and I can't tell you how many times this subject comes up, it's huge news everywhere!!!

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