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FoxNews.com
Arizona-Style
Immigration Bills Emerge in New State Legislative Sessions
Published January 29, 2011
Buoyed by expanded majorities, Republicans at the state level are
stepping up their push to pass Arizona-style immigration laws even as a
federal court weighs whether to strike down the original legislation.
Mississippi was the latest state to make gains on the issue, with the
state House voting Thursday for a bill that would let officers check
immigration status during traffic stops and other encounters. The bill
passed the Senate last week, though it will probably be the subject of
negotiation in the coming weeks as the chambers work out differences
between the two versions.
The action could signal an early wave of immigration bills moving
through the state capitals in 2011. While Mississippi doesn’t elect a
new legislature until later this year, several other states that held
elections in November are now watching their capitals become more
conducive to such anti-illegal immigration measures as Republicans
enter the legislature in greater numbers.
Last year, six states tried and failed to pass immigration proposals
similar to Arizona’s, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures. As those efforts sputtered, a federal District Court
judge granted an injunction against some of the Arizona law’s key
measures -- that case is on appeal.
But amid the uncertainty, the battle lines are once again being drawn
in states from Indiana to Nebraska to Georgia.
In Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal made a pledge to enact an Arizona-style
law as part of his campaign platform last year. State Rep. Matt Ramsey
this past week gave Deal something to work with - a bill that would,
like Arizona’s, authorize local officers to enforce federal immigration
law; require employers to verify the immigration status of their
workers; and call for ID cards for applicants for public benefits.
It’s unclear whether Deal will get on board. The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution reported that Deal’s office is backing an
expansion of the existing 287(g) program -- a federal-local partnership
that empowers local law enforcement to enforce immigration law -- but
reserving judgment on Ramsey’s bill.
Republicans, though, built their majorities in both chambers in the
Georgia legislature last fall.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is another prominent Republican who campaigned
on the immigration issue last year and, like Deal, is watching an
Arizona-style proposal float around his state’s legislature. The
proposal by Rep. William Snyder is still being fleshed out and has
generated heated controversy among top officials in the state.
And in Indiana, where Republicans took back the House in November for
total control of the state government, Republican Rep. Mike Delph has
introduced an immigration bill which is set for a hearing Feb. 2 in
Indianapolis. That proposal would require police to ask for proof of
citizenship or immigration status if they have a reasonable suspicion
that a person is illegally in the country. Plus it would require
official state documents to be issued only in English in most cases.
Another proposal emerged in the Nebraska legislature, drawing out
hundreds of protesters Thursday to the steps of the state capitol
building.
Though the Arizona legislation was the spark for the latest set of
bills, the movement reflects a growing willingness by state
legislatures to take on the immigration issue by themselves over the
past several years in the absence of federal action.
According to NCSL, 300 immigration-related bills were introduced in
2005. In 2010, that number was 1,400 -- of them, 346 were adopted in
the form of laws and resolutions.
In Mississippi, opponents of the latest bill described it as too harsh.
“The only reason the Senate passed that bill out was to help those
people who are running for office, and that’s wrong,” said Democratic
Rep. Willie Bailey, who voted against the bill because he believes
immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.
But Republican Rep. Beckie Currie said she has no problem with people
who follow proper procedures to immigrate to the U.S.
“We’re not making ‘illegal’ illegal,” Currie said. “It was already
illegal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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