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States Continue to Tackle Immigration Issue
Still tackling immigration related issues in a variety of policy arenas, the states considered more than 1,100 bills during this year’s first quarter that would have an impact on immigrants, according to a recent report from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
As of March 31, at least 1,106 bills had been considered in 44 states, the report says, and 26 states enacted 44 laws and adopted 38 resolutions or memorials during this year’s first quarter.
This level of activity is comparable to last year, when 1,169 bills and resolutions were introduced as of April 13, and 18 states had enacted 57 immigration laws and at least 19 resolutions and memorials were adopted.
States continue to address both enforcement and integration issues related to immigrants. As in recent years, the top three areas of interest have been law enforcement, employment and identification documents.
State legislatures have dealt with a variety of issues in the employment arena, the report says, including employer sanctions for hiring unauthorized workers, and have addressed the use of federal employment eligibility verification systems by public agencies, private employers or state contractors.
Other bills have been related to immigrants’ unemployment compensation, identity theft legislation specific to employment, wage withholding for non-resident aliens, and state temporary worker programs in Arizona and Colorado.
Several law enforcement bills include measures that would authorize the state attorney general to negotiate cooperation between state law enforcement agencies and the Department of Homeland Security.
Several bills would penalize the transportation or harboring of unauthorized aliens, and some would create financial disincentives for municipalities believed to be creating a sanctuary for unauthorized immigrants.
For a PDF version of the full NCSL Immigrant Policy Project report in PDF version, click here.
For more information, e-mail Elizabeth Ambrose at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8253.
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