It's no secret that our immigration system is broken. Americans are calling for action, but Republicans in congress seem content stalling and letting the problem continue. In the meantime, Republican state legislators across the country have responded with anti-immigrant, enforcement-heavy state legislation that is not only costly but also fails to fix our broken system.
While Republican state legislators continue to make matters worse, progressive Democrats in 28 states have introduced legislation that makes sense for our economy, makes sense for our families and avoids further complications to our broken immigration system. On Tuesday, Progressive States Network brought together four of these legislators who have taken key leadership roles on smart, proactive, comprehensive immigration solutions.
In Arizona, State Representative Kyrsten Sinema has been a vocal critic of the state's recent anti-immigrant law, SB1070, which she believes is nothing more than a political wedge. From the start, she's expressed concerns over the law's failure to address border violence, all the while making the job of local law enforcement even more difficult. "We're facing a massive fiscal crisis," Sinema explained, "And so measures that don't focus on criminal activity just don't make sense."
Meanwhile, across the country, some are using the passage of SB1070 as an opportunity to take proactive measures against anti-immigrant, draconian legislation.
Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leach recently introduced legislation that prevents local and state law enforcement officers from being involved in the enforcement of federal immigration law. According to Leach, "Local police are supposed to stop street crime - this becomes much more difficult when members of the community don't trust law enforcement."
In Iowa, State Senator Joe Bolkcom has introduced stricter wage enforcement legislation to guarantee all Iowa workers - whether new to the state or lifelong residents - are paid fairly. Under the current law, weak penalties do very little to deter employers from wage stealing. However, with the proposed legislation, employers would face much harsher penalties and employees would have protection from employer retaliation.
In Utah, State Senator Luz Robles is focused on immigrant children. The State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) provides matching funds to states to provide healthcare coverage for children of low income families who do not qualify for Medicaid. However, until recently, S-CHIP excluded legal immigrant children who lived in the United States less than five years. President Obama lifted the five-year ban during the first year of his administration, but many states have failed to appropriate matching funds, and thus continue to exclude legal immigrant children. According to Robles, "Penalizing children or pregnant women carrying citizen children is just not good public policy," and that's exactly why she pushed the Utah legislature to reinstate funding for S-CHIP earlier this year.
In the absence of federal reform, the work of progressive state legislatures across this country is key to protecting our economy and our families from the devastation of more costly, anti-immigrant laws being introduced by Republicans.
However, let us be clear: Until we pass federal solutions, states will continue to pass costly and reactionary laws that cause more harm than good. We need serious, workable solutions that go after abusive employers, restore the rule of law and move us forward together.
