State Lawmaking on Immigration After Arizona Sb 1070
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TO COPY OR NOT TO COPY? STATE LAWMAKING ON IMMIGRATION AFTER ARIZONA SB 1070 A federal judge’s decision to delay implementation of key For many states, this will be a second attempt to take im- provisions of Arizona’s new immigration law has discour- migration law into their own hands. The first generation of aged lawmakers in some states from going forward with state immigration statutes, most passed between 2006 and copycat legislation. But others – some focused on policy, 2008, focused on employers who hired illegal immigrants. others for purely political reasons – are moving full speed And although a small number of states may pass employer ahead to draft and introduce tough immigration enforce- sanctions laws this year, most are talking about following ment bills. Arizona down the new path charted with SB 1070: enlist- ing local law enforcement and targeting illegal immigrants Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed SB 1070 into law in directly. April, generating controversy across the country and raising questions about whether states are constitution- It’s still too early to tell how big this second wave of state ally authorized to take immigration enforcement into their immigration enforcement laws will be. Lawmakers in at own hands. One of the broadest and strictest immigration least ten states have already considered measures like enforcement measures in generations, the Arizona law SB 1070 that authorize police to inquire about immigration makes illegal immigration a state crime and authorizes po- status. None of those bills have been passed into law. lice to determine the immigration status of people they stop The Ninth Circuit’s ruling on the administration’s suit while enforcing other laws. In July, the Obama administra- against SB 1070 will undoubtedly influence lawmakers and tion asked for and received a temporary injunction against probably deter some from going forward. Others will be core provisions of SB 1070, including those mandating watching closely when the U.S. Supreme Court considers police to make determinations about immigration status. the constitutionality of Arizona’s 2007 employer sanctions The state of Arizona appealed, and the Ninth U.S. Circuit law in December. The issue at the heart of that case – Court of Appeals in San Francisco is scheduled to hear whether, as the plaintiffs claim, immigration enforcement the case on November 1. is primarily a federal responsibility – clearly has repercus- With midterm elections in full swing, politicians and political sions for lawmakers who want to empower state and candidates in more than 25 states have promised to intro- local police to detain illegal immigrants. Still, the Supreme duce Arizona-like immigration enforcement bills when their Court case is expected to be argued on fairly narrow legal state legislatures convene in 2011. What no one knows: grounds, and it may not fully clarify where federal authority how many will follow through. stops and state jurisdiction begins. October 22, 2010 1 At least as important in most states will be local political Then in late September, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House dynamics. Poll results are consistent across states and Speaker David Ralston announced the formation of a over time: some 60 percent of the public approves of SB 14-member, all-Republican joint commission on immigra- 1070, and sizeable majorities in most states would like tion. Ralston said the panel was needed because of the to see local lawmakers pass something like it. Budgetary federal government’s failure to get a grip on illegal im- considerations will cut the other way: laws like SB 1070 migration, and local sources read his move as a sure sign will be expensive to implement, at a time when few states that lawmakers are on a path to introduce an Arizona-type are looking for extra expenses. Still, the issue of illegal bill – maybe more than one. Georgia observers rate the immigration came up in many statewide Republican pri- odds of passage good to very good. maries this spring. And hotly contested governors’ races in Like Arizona and several other states poised to pass an several states – Colorado, Florida, Georgia, South Caro- Arizona-like bill this winter, Georgia has a history of taking lina, among others – may be what decide whether copycat tough positions on immigration. Through the 1990s and measures are enacted as law. into the 2000s, the immigrant population in Georgia grew If the last wave of state immigration enforcement laws is faster than almost any other state’s, and Georgia was the any guide, the results will be a mixed bag. In 2007, as first state in the nation to take immigration enforcement today, Arizona was one of the first states in the nation into its own hands. The 2006 Georgia Security and Im- to pass what was then considered a draconian legisla- migration Compliance Act made it more difficult for illegal tive package, requiring all employers in the state to use immigrants to work on state projects and to gain access to the federal web-based employment-verification system, health care, higher education and public benefits. E-Verify. Lawmakers in many states threatened to follow Not every tough measure has passed the Georgia legis- suit with similarly sweeping measures, and a handful of lature: last year, lawmakers defeated a bill mandating that legislatures did. But in the end, most states backed off or local law enforcement cooperate with federal immigration passed a much diluted version of the Arizona employer authorities as part of a statewide 287(g) program. This sanctions law, mandating E-Verify only for state contrac- year, local activists have mounted an all-out push to tors or targeting only businesses deliberately violating mobilize Latino voters. And a bill modeled on SB 1070 immigration law. would face opposition in the business community: the Hard as it is to predict what will happen in any state this state’s influential textile, poultry and agricultural sectors all winter, ImmigrationWorks believes that the 25 capitals rely heavily on immigrant labor. where politicians are talking about following in Arizona’s Still, if elected governor, Nathan Deal can be counted on footsteps fall into three categories – DANGER LIST, to push hard for a new enforcement bill. He made op- MAYBE/MAYBE NOT and LESS LIKELY. The state of position to illegal immigration a centerpiece of his career Utah, considering a hyrbrid compromise, is in a category in the House of Representatives, including offering an by itself. amendment to the 2009 health care bill that would have required proving citizenship to receive and renew Medic- DANGER LIST aid benefits. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes is also on record supporting an Arizona-type measure. Local GEORGIA sources say he might have second thoughts if the bill ap- peared to be unconstitutional. But given the angry mood The Republican candidate for governor, in Georgia, even this seems unlikely to do more than U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, has been promising for months temper a strict new enforcement law. that if elected he will advance an Arizona-style immigra- tion bill. October 22, 2010 2 MISSISSIPPI Like Arizona, Georgia and Mississippi, Oklahoma has a history of tough immigration enforcement, most of it The state passed one of the toughest employer spearheaded by Terrill, who has built his political career on sanctions laws in the land in 2009, becoming one of cracking down on illegal immigrants. His HB 1804, passed only four states to mandate E-Verify for all employers. But in 2007, was by some measures even more severe than that apparently was not enough for voters or lawmakers in Arizona’s 2007 employer sanctions law. In addition to Mississippi, and all signs suggest that the state is getting requiring state contractors and public employers to use E- ready to pass another immigration enforcement bill this Verify, it allowed fired U.S. citizens to sue their employers winter. if they believed they had been replaced by unauthorized workers. Elected officials have been talking about it for months: “I think you are going to see an Arizona-type law here in In February, a three-judge panel of the Denver-based Mississippi,” Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant predicted on Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that two of the the radio in August. And Republican Party elder Gov. Haley Oklahoma measure’s key provisions were unconstitu- Barbour has told reporters he would sign a measure mod- tional. But this has not stopped Terrill from considering a eled on SB 1070. second-generation bill. (He also seems undeterred by an Oklahoma County grand jury investigation into his alleged Three Republican state senators – Lee Yancey, Chris involvement in a political corruption scandal.) McDaniel and Michael Watson – have told the press they are working on legislation. And perhaps most significantly, This year, Terrill is teaming up with three other GOP according to local observers, Sen. Joey Fillingane, the new lawmakers – Sen. Anthony Sykes and Reps. Mike Christian Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rex Duncan. They have until December to file a bill. held two days of hearings on immigration in early October. Opponents are pinning their hopes on changes in the lead- More than a dozen witnesses from all sides of the debate ership of the legislature. The new Speaker of the House testified on all aspects of the issue and left no doubt in will be Rep. Kris Steele, a Republican Methodist minister people’s minds: Fillingane is getting ready to make a move. said to have a good understanding of business concerns. It doesn’t help that 2011 is an election year in Mississippi While he hasn’t said so publicly, sources believe Steele and the state GOP sees immigration enforcement as a may be hesitant to go as far as SB 1070 and may in fact try political winner.