While immigration reform legislation languishes in Congress, states are aggressively taking immigration law into their own hands.
Immigration law is big business in states throughout the nation. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that 43 states and the District of Columbia passed 377 laws and resolutions relating to immigration through the end of June this year.
Driver’s licenses and in-state tuition are favorites. Driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants are now available in 10 states with in-state tuition available in 15 states.
But the real fight is a pitched battle between immigration reformers and supporters of existing federal law. It took flight inCaliforniathis summer and is sure to spread to other states.
California legislators have passed a law (AB4) that restricts the ability of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to detain and deport illegal immigrants. The law limits the requirement for state and local law enforcement to detain illegals with records of minor offenses and puts the emphasis on lawbreakers guilty of major crimes.
California is not the first state to adapt a so-called Trust Act. Similar laws passed earlier this year in Connecticut (HB6659) and Colorado (HB1258). Trust stands for “Transparency and Responsibility Using State Tools.” The District of Columbia was the first government to pass such a law last year.
The common enemy amongst Trust Act advocates is the Secure Communities program administered by ICE. It is a cooperative effort between ICE and state and local law enforcement designed to identify, detain, and deport the most dangerous criminals. ICE uses FBI fingerprints to identify such lawbreakers.
Immigration reformers claim the Secure Communities program snags innocent immigrants, separating them from their families and wasting local law enforcement resources. Moreover, they say immigrants are fearful of reporting crimes to local police.
If immigration reformers are upset about the Secure Communities program, they must be doubly rankled by the SAFE Act (H.R. 2278), one of four major immigration reform bills passed by the House Judiciary Committee in June. The bill preserves cooperation between local law enforcement and federal agencies to jointly enforce existing immigration laws.
The struggle between states and Congress over immigration law is on a collision course. The issue concerns important issues of constitutional law as well as federal funding of state and local programs.
As Congress moves to seriously consider the vast differences between Senate and House approaches to immigration reform, the states would do well to put on the brakes and remember the rule of federal supremacy over immigration law.
Written By: John Walker
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