"Frustrated with Congress's inability to pass an immigration overhaul bill, state legislatures are considering or enacting a record number of strongly worded proposals targeting illegal immigrants.
By the time most legislatures adjourned in May, at least 1,100 immigration bills had been submitted by lawmakers, more than double last year's record total, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This year's total is expected to grow as the issue continues to dominate debate in statehouses still in session.
These laws limit illegal immigrants' ability to obtain jobs, find housing, get driver's licenses and receive many government services. They also empower state law enforcement agencies to inquire into an immigrant's legal status and hold for deportation those deemed to be here illegally. The idea is to make life so difficult for illegal immigrants that they will leave the state -- if not the country.
"Illegal immigrants will not come to Oklahoma if there are no jobs waiting for them," said state Rep. Randy Terrill (R), who wrote his state's law, one of the most sweeping in the country. "They will not stay here if there are no government subsidies, and they certainly will not stay here if they know that if they come in contact with one of our officers, they will be physically detained until they are deported.
The Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, signed by Gov. Brad Henry (D) last month, restricts illegal immigrants' access to all forms of official identification, bars them from receiving public assistance and metes out stiff fines to employers who hire them.
The law allows local officers to train with federal authorities so they can apprehend illegal immigrants. It does not allow those immigrants to post bail, calling them a flight risk. Anti-illegal-immigration groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform say the law is a model for the nation.
Similar measures are being considered in Nebraska and Idaho. In Michigan, lawmakers considered stripping health and welfare benefits from undocumented immigrants. An Arizona proposal would let police ask people they arrest about their citizenship status and seize them if they cannot produce proper documents.
In January, the Virginia House of Delegates approved a far-reaching proposal to strip charities and other organizations of state and local funding if any of the money is used to provide services to immigrants who are in the country illegally.
Before they adjourned, Maryland lawmakers defeated a proposal that would have let illegal immigrants pay in-state college tuition. Lawmakers are still considering a measure that would place a 5 percent surcharge on wire transfers to Mexico.
"The view here in the hinterland is that Washington has abrogated its responsibility to deal with this issue," said North Carolina Rep. Bill Faison (D), who chairs the Agribusiness Committee.
Faison said North Carolina growers need immigrant workers in order to thrive, but passing legislation friendly to illegal immigrants is difficult.
"There are a lot of people here who would like to take every immigrant here and ship them home. But those same people are buying the houses that they build and taking their services. It's a schizophrenic view," Faison said.
In Pennsylvania, Rep. Angel Cruz, a Democrat and the only Hispanic member of the legislature, submitted a proposal calling on the state to study the lives of immigrants, legal and illegal, "so that we can learn about their contributions before we act," he said. The bill is scheduled for a vote next week..."
If thats what it takes then thats what it takes. Having the Feds do it means a lot more money for enforcement but if it means doing without the bells and whistles then so be it. The crying shame is the caterwauling coming from...drumroll please...the South. I can't remember how many combative emails have been exchanged with my representatives...who by the way all fear Senator Martinez to one degree or another...but strongly worded, anti-illegal legislation isn't happening in Florida, Georgia or North Carolina. Texas? Not a chance. The plantation mentality has taken hold once again and here's the gist of a communication between myself and an elected official:
There are a LOT of illegals to choose from. Most of them who show up for work, work their asses off. Those who do not are passed over. They have no bargaining entities, are simply required to work then go home then do it all over again. Their productivity is TWICE what can be obtained by using legal blacks and hispanics to do the same jobs. Hire a legal black or hispanic and then hire twice the amount of human resource personnel along with a helluva lot more lawyers because the discrimination complaints are going to come hot and heavy. The liberal politicians and gadfly's then march in and begin making demands and pushing affirmative action programs.
It is a mess. If all food growers and manufacturers could start afresh with the same rules and workforce it'd be a different story, but each and every one of them is fearful the competition will continue with an unfair advantage should they refuse to hire illegals. And it isn't so much the hourly wage but the fact that it takes from one and a half land two legals to do the work of one illegal.
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