STRIVE Act: Pro and Con

The STRIVE Act, a bi[artisan immigration reform bill, continues to percolate in Congress.  For an AILA summary of the provisions, click here.  National Council for La Raza (here) and MALDEF (here) have expressed cautious optimism about the bill.  However, the American Civil Liberties Union (here) has issued a statement that, while a welcome first step, the bill falls short from a civil liberties perspective. Although the STRIVE Act does not include the many due process deprivations that have plagued other so-called immigration “reform” legislation, it would violate privacy through the creation of a de facto national identification card.

While reform legislation works through Congress, state and local governments remain frustrated with the federal government’s response to illegal immigration.  Most recently, Oklahoma (here) may be the next state to pass a tough law targeting illegal immigrants and the businesses that employ them. A sweeping measure moving through the Legislature would deny welfare benefits, in-state college tuition rates and numerous state subsidies to those in the country illegally. It would also empower police to detain illegal immigrants and require businesses that do work for the state to prove that their employees are legally in the country. The legislation comes after passage of similar laws last year in Colorado and Georgia. Like legislators in those states, the leader of the Oklahoma effort said he was tired of waiting for Washington politicians to fix a problem that costs his state millions of dollars a year.

KJ