State Immigration Legislation in 2008 Maintains Last Year’s Pace

The National Conference of State Legislatures report, “Overview of State Legislation Related to Immigrants and Immigration, January – March 2008” provides a first look at introduced legislation in 2008 and presents selected examples of enacted laws relating to immigrants and refugees. As of March 31, 2008, at least 1,106 bills have been considered in 44 states this year. Twenty-six states have enacted 44 laws and adopted 38 resolutions or memorials. This level of activity is comparable to last year, when 1,169 bills and resolutions had been introduced (as of April 13, 2007). At this time last year, 18 states had enacted 57 laws related to immigrants and immigration. State legislatures had also adopted at least 19 resolutions and memorials. States continue to address both enforcement and integration issues related to immigrants. As in recent years, the top three areas of interest are law enforcement, employment, and identification documents.”

KJ