U.S. Chamber Seeks to Stop Proliferation of State Immigration Laws
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is as intent on killing immigration reform in the states as it is in resurrecting it on Capitol Hill. The group promises a legal fight over recently passed state laws cracking down on illegal employment, contending they are unconstitutional.
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December 7, 2007
U.S. Chamber Seeks to Stop Proliferation of State Immigration Laws

A major business organization is as intent on killing immigration reform in the states as it is in resurrecting it on Capitol Hill.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is promising to fight in court recently passed state laws that crack down on illegal employment because it says they are unconstitutional.

Those measures are filling the void created by the failure of immigration legislation on Capitol Hill, according to a new study by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The report says that 1,600 immigration bills have been introduced in statehouses nationwide, with 244 enacted, since the beginning of 2007. Many states are responding to the increasing costs of public services associated with illegal populations.

The report was released Friday, December 7, at a conference hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and the NCSL designed to enhance cooperation between the business community and the states.

Currently, there’s tension over the new immigration laws, which the chamber says hamstring companies that have to comply with different rules in different jurisdictions.

The chamber also asserts that state measures encroach on an area that is the responsibility of the federal government.

“Almost all of them are unconstitutional,â€