NCSL report on immigration laws in 2017

The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) has released its most recent report on the state of immigration laws.  In summary, this research highlights trends in immigration legislation for the period in question.  Some categories covered include sanctuary policies, refugees, and education.  

Covering the period from January to June of 2017, the report notes a sharp rise in new laws related to immigration.  Specifically, 133 of such laws were passed, as compared to 70 during the same period of 2016.  This represents a ninety percent increase.  The number of resolutions was 195, up 22 percent from 159.  This amounts to lawmakers in 47 different states passing 133 laws and 195 resolutions that had to do with immigration, totaling 328.  In addition, nine bills that otherwise might have passed were voted by governors, with eighteen still pending signatures.  Three states never passed a single piece of legislation related to immigration during the first half of 2017.  These include Alaska, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

Immigration trends in 2017

In recent months, much has been made of the term “sanctuary” with regard to immigration laws.  No strict legal definition exists for sanctuary policies.  However, the term is broadly used to describe jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.  Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia considered over one hundred bills in 2017 pertaining to sanctuary jurisdictions or noncompliance with immigration detainers.  As of June 2017, four states (Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi and Texas) have enacted laws in opposition to sanctuary policies.  

Laws by category

Refugees – 27 states introduced a total of 65 bills aiming to increase state control over refugee resettlement.  South Dakota did away with the authority of its department of social services to create bargains with regard to the Refugee Act of 1980.  California, Illinois, Nebraska and New Jersey adopted resolutions supporting refugees or rejecting recent travel bans on Muslim-majority countries.  

Education – Six states including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada and West Virginia, inserted parts of the federal naturalization exam into courses covering high school civics.  Some states have practiced this in the past, including Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah.

Education/in-state tuition – The District of Columbia is the most recent jurisdiction that has decided to offer in-state tuition and financial aid to both documented and undocumented immigrants.  At present, 16 legislatures, the District of Columbia, and four universities allow unauthorized students to receive tuition at the in-state rate.  

Of all the laws passed in the first half of 2017, the largest portion of them pertains to budgets and appropriations.  These laws comprised 27 percent of the total and have to do with authorizing funds for things like immigration enforcement, English language and citizenship classes, and migrant and refugee programs.  

The next largest category was related to law enforcement.  This included immigration enforcement and consumer fraud regarding legal services, amounting to twenty-one percent.  

Fourteen percent of immigration-related legislation passed had to do with ID’s and driver’s licenses.

If you have questions about any recent immigration legislation, contact the Law Office of Marilyn Orbach-Rosenberg  today.

Sources:

http://www.ncsl.org/research/immigration/report-on-2017-state-immigration-laws-january-june.aspx

http://www.orbachrosenberglaw.com/contact-us/