South Carolina governor signs immigration bill into law similar to Arizona's

news.yahoo.com...

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley on Monday signed into law a bill that requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest for another reason and suspect may be in the country illegally.

The immigration crackdown, which goes into effect January 1, follows similar action by lawmakers in Georgia and Alabama.

The law also creates a $1.3 million Illegal Immigration Enforcement Unit within the state public safety department to serve as a liaison between local police and federal immigration officials. The unit will have 12 full-time officers, as well as its own unique uniforms and vehicle markings.

Well, Arizona was the first, and now the states come rolling in. Alabama, Georgia, and now S.Carolina. Maybe I missed a few more, im not sure though.

I wonder which state is going to be next?

I live in AZ, the law Gov. Brewer signed was challenged by the Feds in court. I wonder if the same fate lies ahead for these other states, or will the Feds finally wake up to the fact that the problem IS REALLY as bad as we say it is.

I also recollect Oklahoma, a few years ago, enacted their own set of laws for illegals and the companies that hire them - mainly enforcing companies to implement the eVerify background checks for each new employee.

I've been to SC many times and I adore the place and the people. It does seem like there is a huge problem with illegal immigration in some areas there. It seems that construction and landscaping companies are the most guilty party in employing them from what I saw. People there were telling me there was a huge fine for companies hiring illegals, but that obviously hasn't made much impact. If someone is arrested and found to be illegally in the country then they should be sent home. I wonder how much money gets sent abroad each year instead of staying in the economy ? They are the reason it has become so difficult to immigrate to the U.S after all. But I think it would be terribly offensive to someone who had been stopped on the street because of their ethnicity. Fine line, but it does need addressing somehow.

reply to post by 13star


The funny thing is, natural citizens of the U.S. have their ID checked every time they are stopped, and we have to provide proper information to obtain a driver's liscense, so in essence we are checked to some extent every time we are pulled over. However I wouldn't find it offensive if an officer asked me to provide ID to prove I was a citizen, so why should any one else?

The key to cracking down on immigration is to implement tougher screening when obtaining an ID or liscense. I don't necessarily mean more questions, but better screening for fake paperwork.

In any case, people are starting to realize that the government is profiting off of illegal immigration in many ways we aren't aware of, and that's why they talk the talk, but won't walk the walk when it comes to cracking down. The states are not so lenient when it comes to their borders and policies and I for one am glad to see them taking initiative to solve the problem.

King