Another day, another state doing the job Washington won’t
A bill that requires police in South Carolina to check suspects’ immigration status and mandates that all businesses check their hires through a federal online system received final legislative approval Tuesday.
The House voted 69-43 to agree with the Senate’s changes and send the bill to Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, whose spokesman confirmed she will sign it.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell noted South Carolina is the latest in a string of states to place similar requirements on law enforcement.
“If Washington refuses to effectively support our law enforcement officers by enforcing immigration laws, it is left up to the states to stand up and do what is right,” said Mr. Harrell (R., Charleston). “That is exactly what South Carolina did today by making sure our officers have the enforcement tools they need during this time of federal indecision.”
The bill expands on a 2008 South Carolina law which at the time was considered one of the nation’s toughest crackdowns on illegal immigration.
Obviously, this has made the ACLU and the typical race baiters very unhappy
Opponents argue the bill will encourage racial profiling and lead to lawsuits. Beyond the possibility of lawsuits by civil rights groups, the measure allows residents to sue local governments that bar or restrict officers from complying.
“We’re setting up another avenue for racial profiling,” said Rep. David Mack (D., North Charleston). “We’re going to have situations of hard-working Americans of a certain color … pulled over for no reason but they’re brown. That’s wrong.”
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing to block similar laws in Arizona, Utah, Indiana, and Georgia. It is planning to sue in Alabama and will sue in South Carolina too, should it become law, said Andre Segura, an ACLU attorney in New York.
“It’s a definite throwback to the pre-civil rights era,” he said. “It really strikes at the heart of American values and makes these states into ‘show-me-your-papers’ states.”
Hey, I’ll have to remember to use that defense the next time I take an airplane trip and they require my ID.
