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If the DREAM Act won’t pass at the federal level, then state and local efforts might succeed instead, creating a scenario that might look like this: a hodge-podge of rules and regulations in different geographic zones of the US that would make enforcement a nightmare and add even more confusion to an already chaotic situation — essentially creating a path towards the balkanization of immigration reform.
Arizona has repeatedly claimed that it has been failure to pass immigration reform at the federal level that led them to pass SB 1070 at the state level. Whatever your opinion of SB 1070 may be (and I personally believe that it’s a heinous law), the point is still valid. Immigration reform has failed to pass at the federal level, as evinced by the failed attempt to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2007 and the most recent failures of the DREAM Act to emerge out of cloture, once in September of last year and then again in the lame-duck session of this past December.
Taking a cue from Arizona, legislators in different states are presenting laws similar to SB 1070 (despite the federal-level legal challenge against it); while still others are presenting hybrid DREAM Act legislation aimed at financially helping undocumented students attend college; and still others are presenting solutions aimed at solving the immigration status of the undocumented, similar to comprehensive immigration reform.
In Virginia, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is following in the footsteps of Arizona’s SB 1070. In Utah, State Senator Luz Robles is attempting to pass legislation that looks more like comprehensive immigration reform. Florida, Texas and Kentucky look like they are following in the footsteps of Arizona, while Maryland and California may be getting ready to introduce DREAM Act style legislation in their states.
Although some very well-intentioned legislators may want to introduce legislation to protect their people at the state level, I think that this type of piecemeal approach is ultimately dangerous. We need to work together at the federal level to pass immigration reform because if we don’t, it’ll lead to even more chaos than exists now.
Although I understand that this stance may anger some people that want to see some kind of legislation pass at any cost, I think it would be wrong for that legislation to pass at the state and local level…efforts need to be re-directed to pass legislation at the federal level…despite the recent setbacks.
Great post with lots of ipmroatnt stuff.