Thread: Senate approves SC anti-illegal immigration bill

Senate approves SC anti-illegal immigration bill
By SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press
Thursday, March 10, 2011

COLUMBIA — South Carolina senators approved anti-illegal immigration legislation early Thursday that would require law enforcement officers to check a person’s immigration status during traffic stops or an arrest unless the person has a valid driver’s license, military ID or passport on them.

The 28-8 vote in the overnight session followed days of debate by Republicans over how to make the bill tougher. It requires another, mostly routine vote before heading to the House, where its GOP majority has made the issue a top priority for this session.

Under the Senate bill, officers would have to call Immigrations and Custom Enforcement if they suspect someone might be in the country illegally. Republican Senate leaders contend that their bill makes an important distinction from a similar law passed in Arizona that’s being challenged in court, in that South Carolina officers wouldn’t be allowed to hold someone strictly over suspicions about their immigration status.

“We didn’t cross that line that invites a challenge,â€

March 11, 2011


S.C. Border Patrol?

Bill would create statewide illegal immigration unit, but lawmakers must find a way to pay for it


By NOELLE PHILLIPS

The S.C. General Assembly would have to find money in its already strapped budget to pay for its version of a border patrol if the latest version of the state’s proposed immigration law wins approval.


The Illegal Immigration Enforcement Unit would fall under the supervision of the S.C. Department of Public Safety, according to a provision added Wednesday by Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington. The unit would have its own insignia, uniforms and cars, and the Department of Public Safety would have to create it as a separate entity from the S.C. Highway Patrol, which already faces a shortage of troopers.


The bill passed the Senate after a session that stretched past midnight and into Thursday morning. Senate leaders and the bill’s sponsors were determined to push immigration legislation through its chambers before the schedule gets filled with budget debates and the task of drawing new legislative districts.


The bill now moves to the House, where it most likely will undergo more changes.


The Senate version also introduces three other new provisions:


• It would be a felony to make fake IDs for illegal immigrants. The penalty would be five years in prison and a $25,000 fine.


• Police officers would have to keep a database of information about people who are stopped and checked for citizenship status. The officers would report information such as age, gender and ethnicity as a way of monitoring whether officers are racially profiling those they stop. The database would be similar to the one already maintained for seat belt violations.


• A $5 fee would be placed on international wire transfers of less than $500, and transfers of more than $500 would be assessed a fee equal to 1 percent of the transaction. Money raised through the fees would be appropriated for the immigration enforcement unit.


Knotts pushed for the unit’s creation in exchange for other lawmakers’ support to remove a provision that would have allowed local residents to sue police officers who are believed to ignore the state’s immigration laws.


The unit would operate much like the S.C. Highway Patrol’s narcotics task force. It would have statewide jurisdiction and would concentrate on illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes or who help recruit more illegal immigrants to work in the state, Knotts said.


“It would not be running up and down the highway and writing traffic tickets to everybody speeding,â€