Federal Gridlock on Immigration Reform Leads States to Action (New laws triple in ‘07)

National Conference of State Legislatures ^ | November 29, 2007 | Staff

[flattorney]

November 29, 2007

Federal Gridlock on Immigration Reform Leads States to Action: 

States enacted triple the numbers of laws in 2007 over 2006

DENVER - In the absence of federal immigration reform, state legislatures have passed an unprecedented amount of legislation related to immigrants in a range of policy arenas.

As of November 16, 2007, roughly 1562 pieces of legislation related to immigrants and immigration had been introduced among the 50 state legislatures. Of these bills, 244 became law in 46 states. 11 bills have been vetoed by governors. Two measures are still pending governors’ review.

State legislators have introduced roughly two and a half times more bills in 2007 than in 2006.  The number of enactments from 2006 (84) has more than tripled to 246 in 2007.  Several states are still in session so there could be additional legislation related to immigrants as the year draws to a close.

Immigration-related legislation covers almost every policy arena. Some of the main topics in state immigration-related legislation:

Main Topics	Number of Bills Introduced	States	Enacted Laws	States
Education	131	34	20	17
Employment**	244	45	31	20
Health	147	32	16	11
Human Trafficking	83	29	18	13
ID/Driver's Licenses/Other Licenses	259	47	42	31
Law Enforcement	165	37	17	10
Legal Services	20	12	3	3
Miscellaneous	116	34	14	11
Omnibus/Comprehensive Measures	29	8	1	1
Public Benefits**	153	40	32	19
Voting	53	23	0	0
Resolutions	162	37	50	18
TOTAL	1562	50	244	46

**Since the April 18th 2007 report, 34 pieces of legislation concerned with workers compensation and unemployment insurance have been moved from the public benefit section to the employment section.

NCSL’s Immigration Relations Task Force’s report gives a quantitative overview of introduced legislation and briefly analyzes enacted laws relating to immigrants and refugees. This process of legislative tracking and reporting is based on a comprehensive and inclusive methodology and captures all state legislation in which immigrants – whether authorized or unauthorized, migrants, aliens and refugees – are affected.  In 2007, states addressed both enforcement and integration issues related to immigrants.

For a free copy of the entire report, please contact NSCL's Media Manager Meagan Dorsch at 720-381-7611.

NCSL is the bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staff of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system.

###

[flattorney]

See FlAttorney’s comprehensive FR "Straight Talk" page

As posted on FR and FlAttorney’s “Straight Talk” page, this month the State of Oklahoma implement the strictest Illegal Immigration Reform Law in the County. The law was overwhelming approved by both Legislature Republicans and Democrats and approved Oklahoma’s Democrat Governor. Other States are looking to adopt a similar tough law. In late October, two members of FlAttorney’s Miami based law firm attended the 2007 Florida Immigration Reform Legislative Summit. One of the speakers was the Director of Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now whose organization was instrumental in the passage of Oklahoma HB 1804: The Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007 which became law on November 1, 2007.

Posted for FlAttorney by TAB

[Joe Boucher]

Round up ALL illegals and deport their asses.
Support them and I work against your sorry butt whatever office you hold no matter where.

[MrEdd]

Round up ALL illegals and deport their asses. Support them and I work against your sorry butt whatever office you hold no matter where.

How about first, civil forfeiture of all assets obtained while here illegally. and work of cost of incarceration and transport with hard labor.

[kabar]

We don’t want federal legislation if it means legalizing the status of those already here. We have enough laws on the books now, mainly from the 1986 amnesty bill, but the federal govenment is not enforcing them.

[gridlock]

I told them to do nothing of the kind!

[Joe Boucher]

Great idea.
The politicians won’t buy it.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

We don’t want federal legislation if it means legalizing the status of those already here.

Exactly. Whenever you see in the media words like "gridlock" or "stalemate" or "reform" what they really mean is a failure to pass an amnesty. The laws are already in place to do what the states are attempting and that is actually enforce them.

[Shermy]

“Federal Gridlock on Immigration Reform”

B.S.

Bush decided not to enforce the laws, then legalize everyone under Z-visas, then blame “gridlock” when he didn’t get his way.

[kabar]

Exactly. If Congress passes CIR, it would cut the legs out from under the states and local authorities and actually force them to provide more services.

[Waco]

“To hell with our oath of office. we want to screw you!” Seems to be the pattern here.

[VOA]

In the absence of federal immigration reform ENFORCEMENT of
a large part of the provisions of the Amnesty act of 1986, as well as
REFUSAL to enforce many other laws ALREADY ON THE BOOKS,...

There.
That's a bit more like what's really happening.

[Travis McGee]

Why Mexican illegals are driving America "cuckoo"

Why doesn't Mexico take care of its own people? Why don't the ultra-wealthy Mexican elites help to pay for the health care and education etc of their own poor? Why do they instead encourage their poor to leave Mexico and invade the United States? Nature provides a parallel that is instructive.

Some species of birds thrive not by carefully rearing their own young, but by pawning that task off on adults of other species. The European Cuckoo, whose distinctive call is immortalized in the sound of the "cuckoo clock," is the bird in which this habit has been most thoroughly studied. Female European Cuckoos lay their eggs only in the nests of other species of birds. A cuckoo egg usually closely mimics the eggs of the host (one of whose eggs is often removed by the cuckoo).

The host may recognize the intruding egg and abandon the nest, or it may incubate and hatch the cuckoo egg. Shortly after hatching, the young European Cuckoo, using a scoop-like depression on its back, instinctively shoves over the edge of the nest any solid object that it contacts. With the disappearance of their eggs and rightful young, the foster parents are free to devote all of their care to the young cuckoo. Frequently this is an awesome task, since the cuckoo chick often grows much larger than the host adults long before it can care for itself. One of the tragicomic scenes in nature is a pair of small foster parents working like Sisyphus to keep up with the voracious appetite of an outsized young cuckoo.

[Gondring]

Bush decided not to enforce the laws, then legalize everyone under Z-visas, then blame “gridlock” when he didn’t get his way.

This points out exactly why the premise of this story/headline is flawed.

[gubamyster]

ping

[jan in Colorado]

Dittos to what Joe said!

"Round up ALL illegals and deport their asses.
Support them and I work against your sorry butt whatever office you hold no matter where."

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Glen Beck has his entire hour on the border wars!

Catch it on replay!

[Just A Nobody]

I stand with Jan and Joe.

Let’s reminisce, shall we?

“The [immigration] bill will not flood our cities with immigrants. It will not upset the ethnic mix of our society. It will not relax the standards of admission. It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs.”
—Ted Kennedy, 1965

“This amnesty will give citizenship to only 1.1 to 1.3 million illegal aliens.
We will secure the borders henceforth.
We will never again bring forward another amnesty bill like this.”
—Ted Kennedy, 1986

“Now it is time for action. 2007 is the year we must fix our broken system.”
—Ted Kennedy, 2007

[chicagolady]

www.progressivestates.org

http://www.progressivestates.org/blog/716/fighting-the-anti-immigrant-movement-in-the-states

Their new strategy against the United States

Strengthening-Communities BY Nathan Newman

Fighting the Anti-Immigrant Movement in the States
Purpose of this Strategy Memo: With the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric and attacks, immigration will inevitably be a major issue in state legislatures in the 2008 session. The goal of this strategy document is to provide an outline of strategies and resources that state legislative leaders and advocates can use to challenge the anti-immigrant movements in their states.

Changing the Narrative on Immigration Politics: Even as anti-immigrant policies have been enacted in a number of states, other states have also been enacting smart, humane policies that raises living standards for all workers, undocumented and native worker alike, while encouraging maximum integration of new immigrants into our communities. State leaders and advocates can use smart policy campaigns to change the public debate on immigration both at the state level and nationally.

Launching the State Immigration Project: Working with allied labor, civil rights, religious, and community organizations, the Progressive States Network is launching the State Immigration Project, which will support state legislative leaders and advocates in challenging the rising anti-immigrant movement at the state level. The goal will be to defeat bad legislation and pass humane immigration legislation where possible, but also to create opportunities to highlight the positive contributions of immigrants to our states. These policy campaigns will emphasize those issues that evoke the many positive feelings the public has about immigrants, a counterbalance to the negative “wedge” messaging of the anti-immigrant right-wing. The campaign overall will have a five-part strategy:

Emphasize the political costs of anti-immigrant political positions and the long-term political gains from humane, inclusive immigration politics

Stress the facts that counter anti-immigrant lies

Promote policies that overcome anti-immigrant “wedge” politics and helps to unite progressive constituencies.

Emphasize the issues that divide even many conservative voters from anti-immigrant advocates

Generate national messaging on the positive steps being taken by states on the immigration issue

Making Immigration a Winning Issue- The Political Case Against Anti-Immigrant Politics: The reality is that globalization is driving economic changes, including immigration, that cause fear and uncertainty for many voters. If progressives promote economic policies that address the broader economic needs of working families, all polling shows that there is no majority for punitive measures against undocumented immigrants. And given the rapid expansion of legal immigrants voting in US elections, including the doubling of the Latino electorate from 7.5 million voters in 2000 to an estimated 14 million voters in 2008, there is no political leadership future for politicians who promote punitive policies against new immigrants and alienate this growing bloc of voters.

Smart State Policy to Deflect Anti-Immigrant Attacks: Progressive leaders need to promote policies that will highlight that those leading the anti-immigrant charge are actually against the interests of working families of all races and immigrant status. Key progressive immigration strategies include:

Wage Enforcement as Immigration Policy: Much of the anger at immigrants derives from fears that sweatshops and sub-minimum wage labor will undermine wage standards. Punishing employers who violate wage laws will politically unite all workers, immigrant and native alike, and actually strengthen the progressive political base. If wage enforcement bills end up being attached to anti-immigrant bills, many in the business lobby will break their current alliances with anti-immigrant politicians.

Encouraging Immigrant Integration and Naturalization: Progressives need to emphasize that all available evidence shows that most are eager to become full members of our communities if given a chance. highlight policies that help all immigrants better integrate, which will unite the interests of legal and undocumented immigrants along with the members of their communities who are already voting citizens.

Immigrants and Public Benefits: While state leaders and advocates need to highlight the studies that show that undocumented immigrants actually pay more in taxes than they use in public benefits, they also need to demand studies of the lost benefits to citizens and the costs to taxpayers from onerous anti-immigrant enforcement rules. Progressive leaders should also demand that the federal government, which receives billions in taxes paid by undocumented workers, share those revenues with states to expand services for communities with heavy immigrant populations.

Voting Reform versus “Voter ID” Attacks: Despite the complete lack of evidence that non-citizens have illegally voted in US elections, progressives need to challenge the voter ID requirements that are disenfranchising many legal voters. While voter ID laws need to be defeated, the other part of progressive mobilization should be demanding that voting be made easier, through reforms like same day registration and voting by mail, for people who do overcome these new barriers to proving their legal right to vote.

Immigrant Outreach as Public Safety and Anti-Terror Policy: Most law enforcement groups recognize that it is harder to protect victims of crime when millions of people living in our communities are fearful of talking to the police when they see a crime or are a victim of one. Progressive leaders can highlight this reality by promoting policies that protect undocumented immigrant victims and witnesses of crime when they contact the police and encourage community policing efforts involving undocumented immigrant communities.

Strengthening Progressive Alliances and Finding New Conservative Allies on the Immigration Issue: Beyond individual policy options, advocates and elected leaders need to emphasize that the coalition in support of humane policies involving new immigrants is diverse and cuts into even many seemingly conservative communities. Elected leaders can build on traditional support from many African-American leaders to labor unions to forge alliances with forward-looking business leaders and religious leaders, including many evangelicals, who recognize that smart, humane immigration policies for our communities is a source of both moral and social strength.

Conclusion- Moral Immigration Politics is Smart Politics: As this strategy memo outlines, moral immigration politics are also smart politics in the long-term, since the present coalition for humane immigration policy is rapidly being joined by new citizens who are unlikely to forgive politicians who vote wrong in the coming legislative session. Ultimately, there is no political future for the politicians leading the drive to enact anti-immigrant laws, while those elected leaders who step up with intelligent, humane policies will be the long-term political winners of the current debate.

[jan in Colorado]

Speaking of Mr. Kennedy...
“we need to move away from the Kennedy Wing of the Republican Party”
-- Duncan Hunter June 5,2007

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads...

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Immigrants come through the Golden Door and want to be
Americans.

Those who invade by bypassing the golden door do not
want to be Americans!