Progressives for Immigration Reform

Jennine Daniels
January 9, 2012

As 2012 gets underway, Progressives for Immigration Reform would like to shed light on major immigration policy changes that will be implemented this year. Throughout the year new immigration laws will take effect at the state level and these laws will contain multiple provisions.

I. Mandatory Use of E-Verify
New immigration laws have gone into effect in the following states: Alabama, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and South Carolina. E-Verify (Employment Eligibility Verification System) represents one of the chief policy goals of many state legislatures. The E-Verify program requires employers to enter the job candidates’ information into a data system in order to compare this data against information held in the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases. A mandatory E-Verify program would greatly assist employers in verifying that their employees are authorized to work in the United States.

Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah laws require E-Verify for both public and private employers. These states vary in the type of penalties they assess on businesses that violate E-Verify rules. States also vary on the type of businesses they require to use E-verify. States like North Carolina and Tennessee exempt seasonal workers from E-Verify and businesses that hire 6 and fewer employees.

• Alabama’s HB 56 embodies one of the strictest immigration-enforcement measures formulated at the state level. The law, which was passed in 2011, requires both public and private employers to begin using E-Verify by April 2012. Businesses that refuse to use E-Verify risk the loss of their business license.

A few states have moved in the opposite direction and have instituted edicts that will limit the use of E-Verify within their borders.

• California’s AB 1236 forbids state municipalities from requiring the use of E-Verify within their boundaries.
• Illinois’s HB 1744 prevents Illinois companies from enrolling in E-Verify until legislators are satisfied that accuracy and timeliness glitches are ameliorated.

II. Other Major Immigration Provisions
State legislatures formulated a number of other major immigration-enforcement provisions, other than E-Verify, meant to discourage illegal immigrants from taking root in their state while coaxing others to leave. Aside from E-Verify, here are a few more laws and provisions to look for this year:

• In Tennessee, Arizona and Alabama new statues are on the books that
  require city and county jails in the state to report any person to U.S.
  Immigration and Customs Enforcement who may be in violation of
  immigration laws.
• Alabama’s HB 56 deems that the state should not enforce or recognize any
  contract between an illegal alien and any commercial party. This law would
  prevent undocumented immigrants from holding jobs, renting housing or
  buying public utilities.
• California passed its own version of the Dream Act. The first part of the
  legislation signed into law in July 2011 allowed illegal immigrants to receive privately funded college scholarships. The second part of the legislation signed in October also extended state-funded aid to certain illegal immigrants.

III. Major Court Decision Looms in 2012
As you are probably aware, in 2011 federal courts were very active in suspending
critical immigration-enforcement measures passed in many states. For example on October 14, a federal appeals court issued a ruling that temporarily blocked major parts of the Alabama’s HB 56. The appeals court blocked a provision in the law that required school officials to check the status of students in public schools and another provision that assessed misdemeanor charges for any immigrant who fails to carry an alien registration card.

While these rulings represent significant setbacks for both lawmakers and concerned citizens, the most important ruling still looms on the horizon. In the spring of 2012, the Supreme Court will ultimately decide the fate of Arizona’s SB 1070. The Obama administration has already suspended many of the provisions of the Arizona law. However, the constitutionality of remaining provisions of Arizona’s landmark law remain unsettled.

As Congress tackles its 2012 legislative agenda in the weeks to come and decisions are made about state immigration laws, please stay tuned to Progressives for Immigration Reform for the latest legislative updates.

For more information, please visit Progressives For Immigration Reform online at pfirdc.org.