Is South Carolina the Next State to Introduce Immigration Enforcement Laws?

08 Oct 2010

Lawmakers in South Carolina are currently investigating potential reforms to their state’s immigration laws. Earlier this week, a congressional judicial subcommittee listened to testimonies at a public hearing. In that hearing, Senator Glenn McConnell, who lead the meeting, commented that the federal government has not adequately enforced immigration laws and that it is now the states’ responsibilities to do so.

“We are determined to do what is necessary to keep people safe in their homes and on the streets of South Carolina…. This law has got to be enforced or this country is going to be overrun,” McConnell said in an interview with a local news station.

The state’s legislature will reconvene early next year and signs lead to it taking up this issue at that time. At the same time, state management of immigration legislation is being taken up by the Supreme Court, which, in November, will review Arizona’s recent legislation that requires companies to use the federal E-Verify program to confirm the employment eligibility of new employees.