Source:  Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 2/24/11

Bills that closely mirror the controversial Arizona law on handling suspected undocumented immigrants have been introduced in Illinois and Georgia.

The Georgia Senate’s “Taxpayers Protection Act of 2011” proposal and the Illinois bill with the same name would prohibit “any limitation on the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law,” as described in the Illinois proposal, essentially granting local law enforcement broad rights in questioning individuals suspected of being in the country illegally. The proposals would “provide for the state offense for failure of an alien to carry a certificate of registration as required by federal law,” as described in the Georgia bill.

The bills also provide for sanctions on employers found to have “knowingly” employed undocumented immigrants and “provides that an arrested person shall have his or her immigration status determined by the federal government before release,” as the Illinois bill states. The Illinois proposal also would penalize drivers for slowing down or stopping to pick up workers in high-traffic areas — a provision aimed at day labor employers.

The proposals have riled immigration attorneys and immigrants’ rights groups. Employers in Georgia have been widely quoted in press reports, complaining about the added costs and problems finding workers; should the legislation pass, they argue, an anti-immigrant reputation for the state would discourage many legal immigrants from seeking work there. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal also has publicly aired his misgivings about the bill’s effect on employers.

The Georgia bill, introduced in that state’s House chamber on Jan. 31, has been referred to committee in both of that state’s chambers. Hearings on the Senate version are underway. (The House version of the bill, HB 87, is dubbed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011.)

In Illinois, the bill was introduced in the House on Feb. 17, and has been referred to committee. Hearings on the bill have not yet been scheduled, and it lacks a companion bill in that state’s Senate chamber.

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