After Demise of Senate Immigration Bill, Array of Local Measures May Follow
With the collapse of a fragile compromise proposal in the Senate to revamp federal immigration policy, a comprehensive bill looks dead on Capitol Hill for this year. Some suggest that narrower, enforcement-oriented legislation still has a chance of approval. But industry observers predict that if Congress doesn't act, states and municipalities could become more aggressive about passing their own immigration measures. That could force employers to contend with many varying requirements around the country. After supporters of the Senate immigration measure on June 28 fell 15 votes short of the 60 needed to end debate and move to a vote on the bill, Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), a key architect of the proposal, said, "It's now clear that we are not going to complete our work on immigration reform." Congressional leaders say they have no plans to bring back the bill in the foreseeable future.
What's next? Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says, "I worry that local and state governments will begin to act more aggressively and create a hodge-podge of laws." Local measures may run the gamut from prohibiting landlords from renting apartments to immigrants without sufficient paperwork to punishing employers who hire undocumented workers. Many of the cities that have passed such laws, including Escondido, Calif., have faced lawsuits and public outcry from civil rights groups.