Legislation
Can Alabama Afford to Enforce their New Restrictive Immigration Law?
This week, U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn failed to enjoin major provisions of Alabama’s extreme immigration law, HB 56, a law designed to drive unauthorized immigrants from the state. Under the law, police officers are now required to demand proof of legal status from anyone who seems foreign. School administrators are required to ask children about their immigration status and that of their parents. People and businesses—including utilities companies—are encouraged not to enter into contracts with anyone who cannot prove their legal status. While some anti-immigrant groups are celebrating the judge’s decision, Alabama businesses and state agencies may ultimately bear the economic brunt of this damaging law. Read More
What You Should Know About Initial Rulings on Alabama’s Immigration Law
Yesterday’s initial rulings from Judge Sharon Blackburn over Alabama’s new anti-immigrant legislation are disturbing and disappointing on many fronts. Absent a reversal of her decision based on an emergency appeal, many provisions of the law that mirror those struck down in every other jurisdiction will go into effect. If so, everyone in Alabama will pay the price of the law’s implementation—and there can be no doubt that residents of Alabama with dark skin, a foreign sounding name, or an accent will face more questions, intrusions, and humiliations. From a legal perspective, however, declarations of a “victory” for Alabama by media outlets and anti-immigrants’ rights groups are premature. The truth is much more complicated. Read More
Federal Judge Rules to Keeps Key Provisions of Alabama’s Restrictive Immigration Law
Today, U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn ruled to keep many of the key provisions in HB 56, Alabama’s restrictive immigration law recently challenged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and civil and immigrant rights groups. While Judge Blackburn ruled to enjoin some provisions of HB 56, she found that the DOJ and civil and immigrant rights groups did not meet “the requirements for a preliminary injunction” in its claim that major provisions—such as the section requiring schools to determine the immigration status of students’ and their parents’—are preempted by federal law. Signed by Governor Robert Bentley in June, HB 56 was challenged by civil rights groups, religious leaders and the DOJ on the basis that the law interferes with the federal enforcement of immigration laws and places undue burdens on local schools and federal agencies. Read More
GOP Candidates Distort Truth on In-State Tuition for Unauthorized Students
Texas Governor Rick Perry, a candidate in the Republican presidential primaries, has been taking a lot of conservative heat lately over his support for the “Texas DREAM Act.” That bill, which Perry signed into law in 2001, allows young unauthorized Texans who came to this country as children to qualify for in-state tuition in state colleges and universities in the same way as their lawfully present peers. Perry says that supporting the bill was an act of mercy towards unauthorized youth who had no say in the decision of their parents to come to the United States without permission. He also says that it is in the best interest of the state to educate unauthorized children rather than consigning them to the margins of society. Read More
Despite Lamar Smith’s Claims, E-Verify Is Not a Jobs Bill
BY TYLER MORAN, NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER While Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) promises that his mandatory E-Verify legislation (HR 2885) is a jobs creation bill, the mark-up of the bill in the House Judiciary Committee last week proved that it is anything but. Though the bill passed the committee by a 22-13 party line vote, the debate in committee and amendments offered make it crystal clear the bill would actually yield job losses. The debate leading up to the committee mark up also shows just how fractured conservatives have become on this issue—and much of it focuses on concerns over jobs. In fact, an unlikely coalition of progressive and conservative organizations joined together to oppose the bill, turning a host of job arguments upside down. Read More
Mandatory E-Verify: An Enforcement Proposal Even Conservatives Don’t Like
Rep. Lamar Smith may find himself whistling in the wind this week as members of his own party continue to blast his E-Verify proposal. Smith’s bill, The “Legal Workforce Act” H.R. 2885, which continues to get marked up this week by the House Judiciary Committee, would make E-Verify mandatory nationwide. Conservative lawmakers, Tea Partiers, and Libertarians, however, fear that E-Verify—a electronic system that allows employers to verify work eligibility by checking employee data against Social Security Administration records—will violate civil liberties, hurt small businesses, and destroy the agriculture industry which relies heavily on undocumented labor. Read More
Better Immigrant Integration Leads to Economic Growth
Over the weekend, more than 27,000 people became American citizens during 285 naturalization ceremonies held across the country in honor of Citizenship Day (September 17). Becoming a citizen, however, is hard work. A new country, new rules, high costs, and little targeted support for new immigrants make what should be a journey of exploration and opportunity one that may be frustrating and lonely. Not surprisingly, problems such as these are a major obstacle to naturalization. Scholars note that despite the steady rise in naturalization rates over the decades, a shocking number of people do not naturalize are actually eligible to do so. In 2008, for example, while more than one million LPRs naturalized, more than eight million were eligible to do so. Developing better integration programs, however, may improve naturalization efforts and lead to economic growth. Read More
Lamar Smith’s E-Verify Arguments Defy Logic and Lack Evidence
Facing opposition from the left and the right, Rep. Lamar Smith appears to be willing to do and say just about anything to pass his “Legal Workforce Act,” (H.R. 2885), which would make E-Verify mandatory for all U.S. businesses. Smith continues to tout E-Verify as a magic bullet that will create jobs for millions of American workers despite all evidence to the contrary. Read More
Lamar Smith Introduces New Agricultural Twist to His Anti-Immigrant Agenda
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has added a novel new twist to his anti-immigrant agenda: letting more immigrant workers into the country. In defiance of logic, the man who believes that immigrants merely steal jobs from U.S. citizens now wants to import migrant agricultural workers. At a hearing today of the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement, Rep. Smith rolled out his latest legislative proposal, called the “American Specialty Agriculture Act” (H.R. 2847). The bill would create a new “H-2C” visa for temporary agricultural workers to replace the existing H-2A program, and would allow growers to bring in up to 500,000 of these workers each year. Read More
California Passes Other Half of DREAM Act Package
While many applauded Governor Jerry Brown’s recent efforts to make college more affordable for all of California’s students, others insisted the state didn’t go far enough. Back in July, Gov. Brown signed AB 130—a bill that allows undocumented students enrolled in California’s public colleges and universities to receive privately-funded university scholarships from non-state funds. At the time, however, its companion bill, AB 131—which would allow undocumented students to apply for state-sponsored financial aid—was stuck in California’s Senate Appropriations Committee. Last week, despite opposition from immigration restrictionists, both California’s State Assembly and Senate approved AB 131 which is now on its way to Gov. Brown’s desk. Many predict Gov. Brown will sign the measure based on promises he made during his campaign. Read More
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