States' crackdowns on immigration slow

By Daniel C. Vock Stateline.org
April 7, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The headlong rush of states into immigration policy may be slowing. In legislative sessions this spring, ambitious proposals in state capitols have been watered down, delayed or outright defeated.

State legislators, many frustrated with federal inaction on immigration issues, continue to dive into the debate over whether undocumented immigrants are entitled to driver 's licenses, in-state tuition at state universities, public benefits and business licenses.

But this year, their actions have been measured or curtailed by their governors or special interest groups, especially compared to recent years, when state lawmakers presented a flurry of new ideas and passed an unprecedented number of immigration-related laws.

In Indiana, Kentucky and Nebraska, get-tough proposals died in key committees. Ideas on the table included measures to shutter businesses that hired undocumented immigrants, to enlist state police in federal immigration enforcement efforts and to cut off public benefits to illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, Utah lawmakers had to make several concessions to win Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman 's support of a new law to prevent companies from hiring unauthorized workers. That law will take effect in 2009.

Mississippi passed a tough hiring law that threatens businesses with loss of state contracts and their licenses for violation. But Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, cited a long list of concerns with the measure and urged legislators to change the statute.

State effort fizzles

In Wisconsin, heightened immigration enforcement has fizzled at the county level. In the past year, Brown and Waukesha counties considered participating in a federal program that gives local law enforcement officers the authority to enforce federal immigration law. They both ultimately rejected the idea because the costs outweighed the benefits.

In Dane County, Sheriff Dave Mahoney took flak from Hispanic advocacy groups for continuing a long-standing policy of reporting jail inmates lacking proper documentation to federal immigration authorities. Mahoney has reaffirmed that he won 't change the policy.

And the state Department of Justice has been negotiating an agreement with federal immigration officials that would allow the Division of Criminal Investigation to enhance its enforcement capabilities, said Kevin St. John, a spokesman for Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.

The agreement isn 't finalized, but state investigators already have increased efforts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including a recent operation in Green Bay that targeted individuals who had re-entered the country after being deported, a criminal offense, St. John said.

Driver 's licenses

One area where states are taking a tougher stance is driver 's licenses for illegal immigrants.

This year, Oregon, Michigan and Maryland backed off previous policies that allowed undocumented immigrants to drive legally -- a change prompted by concerns over fraud and compliance with the federal Real ID Act. The federal law aims at keeping driver 's licenses from terrorists and illegal aliens.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security threatened to make Maine residents subject to additional screening at airports under Real ID, citing flaws in how the state issues driver 's licenses to illegal immigrants.

Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, said he would try to limit licenses to people in the country legally, and, with that assurance, federal officials backed off the threat last week.

North Carolina and Tennessee rescinded similar policies since 2006, and a public uproar, led by Republicans in the New York Senate last fall, stopped then-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, from letting undocumented residents drive legally.

The year 's legislative sessions are far from over, and immigration remains a hotly debated issue in numerous states where lawmakers are still meeting, including Alabama, Kansas, Missouri, Rhode Island and South Carolina. But even in those states, far-reaching proposals -- from barring undocumented students from attending public universities in Missouri to mandatory identification cards for all Alabama workers -- have run into trouble.

Cautious approach

The cautious approach is a marked change from the last three years, when states competed to pass the strictest anti-illegal immigration law in the country. Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Oklahoma all approved groundbreaking measures that cracked down on the problem.

Last year, 46 states enacted 194 new immigration-related laws -- triple the number from the previous year, according to a tally by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But now business groups, which are mounting strong opposition to many of the measures, say they 're better organized to fight proposals that threaten to shut down companies that hire illegal immigrants, as laws passed last year in Arizona and Oklahoma do.

State budget woes and pocketbook issues are also overshadowing concerns about immigration. Shorter legislative sessions of election years and the increased time demands of campaigning may also be playing a role, observers say, by giving lawmakers less time to iron out disagreements.

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