Governors Say States Stressed by Absence of Unifom Immigration Policy
Govs. Mike Beebe (Ark.), Kathleen Sebelius (Kan.), Janet Napolitano (Ariz.) and Phil Bredesen (Tenn.) publicly criticized the absence of comprehensive federal immigration policy at a conference on health care in Little Rock, Ark. in September.
In absence of a federal fix, states are facing the pressure of dealing with the “hear and now” immigration issues, especially in the wake of Homeland Security efforts aimed towards illegal crackdown.
In Kansas, all driver’s license recipients must show birth certificates at the time of application, causing clerks to act as de facto immigration officials.
In Arkansas, State Police officials may allow state troopers to work with federal immigration officials in cases where troopers come into contact with illegal aliens during the course of their duties. Governor Beebe said while he has no problem with the state’s law enforcement agencies cooperating with federal immigration officials, “we don’t have the resources to be doing the feds’ job.”
Arizona will soon enact tough penalties against employers who knowingly or intentionally hire undocumented workers. Governor Napolitano publicly supported the federal bill that died in Congress earlier this year. Asked if she believed differences in state governments ’ laws on immigration could be a source of tension between states, Napolitano said it hasn’t yet but it could in the future.
For more information, call Carlos Gutierrez at 800-368-5242 x8242.
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