St. Louis CofCC Blog

Beaufort (S.C.) Gazette:

BLUFFTON — Immigration reform at the national level is dead for now, but S.C. lawmakers say bills aimed at tackling the issue at the state level might be the hottest topic during the next legislative session.

The state Senate passed a bill last year that proposes crackdowns on identity theft and businesses that hire illegal immigrants, but the House never took up the issue. The House also considered several bills that failed.

Now, with passions still flaring from the debate on immigration in Congress and a chorus of concern from many areas in the state, some lawmakers say they will work on state-level legislation.

“I think it will be the most important topic we take up early in the session,” said Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, who chaired a study group last summer that looked at statewide legislation on illegal immigration. “The people of South Carolina are demanding that we take action, and rightfully so.”

After the collapse of the federal legislation, advocates on both sides of the issue predict the result will be a patchwork of state and local laws across the country.

“If Congress is going to abdicate its responsibilities, then states and cities are going to jump in,” said John Gay, senior vice president of the National Restaurant Association and the leader of a business coalition that backed the failed Senate bill. “One of the arguments for opposing state and local proposals is that Congress is addressing it. We don’t have that anymore.”

Perhaps one of these South Carolina state legislators would like a promotion. There’s a job in the Washington, D.C. area that’s coming open in June and November 2008, and its current jobholder is on bad terms with his bosses, so I understand.