Thread: Study Finds Jersey lagging On Immigration Legislation

Study finds Jersey lagging on immigration legislation

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

BY BRIAN DONOHUE
Star-Ledger Staff

A day after Gov. Jon Corzine formed a new advisory panel on immigration, a new study found New Jersey is one of just nine states whose legislatures have not passed any immigration-related laws in 2007.

The report released yesterday by the National Conference of State Legislatures found states across the country scrambling to address immigration issues as the illegal immigrant population soars past 12 million nationwide and efforts to reform federal laws languish in Congress.

From January to July 2 of this year, 170 immigration-related bills became law in 41 states, more than double the total from the previous year, the NCSL found.

"Congress' failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform has really forced the states' hands," Texas state senator and NCSL President Leticia Van de Putte said in a prepared statement accompanying the report. "Since the federal ship has sunk, there have been 50 lifeboats in the water seeking a solution. Once again, states have taken the lead on one of the most critical public policy challenges facing our country."

The largest number of new laws, passed in 26 states, pertained to identification documents and driver's licenses. Most of those added provisions barring illegal immigrants from the roads.

Labor laws were the second-largest category, with the toughest measure passed in Arizona requiring all employers to check job applicants against a federal database to ensure they are legally eligible to work.

In New Jersey, there are several immigration-related bills in the Legislature, including a Republican-sponsored measure that would ban illegal immigrants from the state's colleges and another that would ban the release of illegal immigrants from state prisons except to federal immigration authorities.

Democrats have proposed several measures as well, including a proposal to exempt undocumented high school graduates from paying the out-of-state resident tuition rate at state colleges, an effort aimed at keeping them from becoming dropouts.

But those bills have seen little movement in the Legislature, making New Jersey one of a handful of states to pass no immigration-related bills this year. The others are New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, Wisconsin and Alaska.

On Monday, Gov. Jon Corzine signed an executive order creating an advisory panel charged with finding ways to help foreign-born residents, including an estimated 450,000 illegal immigrants, integrate into society.

Corzine said the state must step up such efforts after the collapse of federal legislation that would have legalized millions of unauthorized immigrants, toughened rules prohibiting employers from hiring them and bolstered border security.



Brian Donohue may be reached at bdonohue@starledger.com or (973) 392-1543.

http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/in ... xml&coll=1

Hey Guess What? Utah is lagging too.