MISSISSIPPI LATEST STATE TO PASS HARSH IMMIGRATION BILL

Posted by: the Phoenix Immigration Lawyers at Alcock & Associates

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Immigration attorneys and activists alike scratch their heads as yet another contoversial immigration bill is about to be passed. Like Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana and South Carolina, this current iteration of anti-immigration legislation is set to come through from the South, a region that has of late become increasingly entangled in the immigration arena.

Last Thursday, Mississippi lawmakers voted to pass the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhood” Act, by a tally of 70 to 47. Important to note that Mississippi’s Congress is dominated by Republican lawmakers. The bill is now set to pass to State Senate for approval.

The bill has broad support from Republican lawmakers, who recently won a majority in the state for the first time in over a century. Proponents believe that too little has been done on immigration, and a crackdown is needed. Many arguments in favor of the bill hinge on the (questionable) belief that immigrants take jobs from state residents, and are a burden on the economy for the entitlement spending that their presence creates.

Mississippi lawmakers may be acting on the traction that Alabama and Georgia have garnered over their recent anti-immigration legislation, which is popular among residents of both states.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently blocked the enforcement of two provisions of the Alabama law, and portions of Arizona’s own controversial anti-immigration bill, SB 1070, are set to be argued before the Supreme Court in April of this year.

As states continue in the trend of Arizona in the passage of sweeping anti-immigration policies, immigration attorneys are confounded by the premise behind the thinking of proponents of such bills. The idea that immigrants are taking the jobs of out of work Americans and preventing them from employment seems questionable. Many immigrants from other countries take undesirable jobs that others would scoff at. Almost all pay taxes in one form or another, and it is hard to argue that the resources earned and spent from the result of immigrant labor do not support local economies, through sales tax, for example.

Every person is entitled to their own belief, and every State may put forth legislation that reflects the will of its people, but the attorneys at Alcock & Associates believe that every person has a right to pursue the opportunities that this great country provides, and each new anti-immigration bill that comes forth is concerning, to say the least.

For more information about immigration news and cases in Phoenix, Arizona, please contact at immigration lawyer at Alcock & Associates, 602-989-5000.