States preempt US on immigration

Frustrated by federal inaction, state and local governments are passing laws at a record pace.

from the June 15, 2007 edition

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Such a bill has already cleared Arizona's House of Representatives and is now being debated in the state Senate. Moreover, voters here in November approved four ballot initiatives targeting illegal immigrants. One denies in-state tuition rates to undocumented college students.

By April, 40 other states had introduced 199 bills related to employment of undocumented workers – the top subject of concern in the states. The next is law enforcement, then benefits and, closely behind, education, according to the NCSL.

Stresses in new places

Though the US is a nation of immigrants, and the percentage of new immigrants today may actually be lower than in the late 19th century and early 20th century, the patterns have changed.

"Immigrants are going to places like Hazelton, Pa., or towns in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi where the economies are doing better," says Joe Vail, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Houston.

While these communities have plenty of jobs, they don't have the classrooms and other services to support these immigrants and their families. The costs of education, medical care, and other social services are creating financial burdens on them that aren't reimbursed by the federal government, says Professor Vail.

The NCSL's Ms. Steisel says immigration issues now affect all 50 states. As recently as 10 years ago, she says, only five states – New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, and California – were dealing with serious immigration problems. She cites North Carolina as an example. The 2000 census showed that the state had recorded a 400 percent increase in foreign-born residents.

"That is an extraordinary number," Steisel says. "What you see now is states that never before had to deal with immigrants now have to figure out how to handle questions as complex as human trafficking, what documents are necessary for employment – a wide set of issues."

Pitfalls of state and local laws

But when states and municipalities tackle these issues, problems can arise. For example, the federal government already requires employers to verify workers' documents, through the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). When local governments take that responsibility on themselves, it only clogs up the system, experts say.

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