Migrants from Ecuador and Venezuela cross the banks of the Rio Grande on the border between Mexico and the United States.
Photo: AFP – HERIKA MARTINEZ
Following in the wake of Texas and Florida, several states are promoting anti-immigrant laws and measures in the United States, where migration is a key issue in the presidential campaign for the November elections.
“There has been a growing trend for state legislatures to introduce and pass bills on immigration-related issues, testing the limits of how far they can go” with respect to federal legislation, he explained to the AFP Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an analyst at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute (MPI).
These bills “broadly cover two topics: the work and role of local law enforcement agencies,” the expert adds.
As has happened with the Texas and Florida legislation, many of these measures could end up in court. Below we expose the main states with draconian immigration policies.
Texas
Republican Governor Greg Abbott, a great admirer of Donald Trump, a candidate in the November elections against Democratic President Joe Biden, has enacted a law that an appeals court is keeping on hold.
The text allows state police to detain and expel migrants who cross illegally into this southern state from Mexico.
The law, known as SB4, also provides penalties of up to 20 years in prison for migrants who cross the border illegally after being expelled.
Florida
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation with strict measures: anyone who transports a person who has entered illegally risks five years in prison and a fine.
Additionally, it requires small businesses to verify the immigration status of their employees.
Among other restrictions, the law, which came into force in 2023, establishes that driver’s licenses from other states lose validity in Florida (south) if the migrant is in the country illegally.
Iowa
Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed a law under which a migrant faces up to two years in prison if it is proven that he has entered this state in the central United States illegally. It is scheduled to come into effect on July 1.
Alabama
In Alabama, in the southeastern United States, a bill introduced would allow local police to make arrests or investigations based on a person’s immigration status.
W.V.
A bill introduced in this northeastern state requires employers with more than 15 workers to use the E-Verify system, a federally administered mechanism that verifies that a person is authorized to work.
Currently, some employers already require E-Verify and this bill would extend the requirement to a larger number of businesses across the state.
Georgia
Georgia, in the southeast, recently passed a bill requiring state and local authorities to verify the immigration status of people arrested and those in detention, or whether there is “probable cause” that they have committed a crime. .
Oklahoma
This south-central state has passed a bill that creates the crime of “inadmissible occupation,” which allows local and state authorities to arrest a person without the necessary documentation to live in the country. He faces prison sentences.
Tennessee
This central-southeast state recently passed a bill requiring local and state authorities to report information to federal authorities if they discover a citizen is in the country illegally and to help detain and deport them.
New Hampshire
There is a bill in the House of Representatives of this northeastern state that was approved by the Senate that would provide tax breaks for landowners to post no trespassing signs on private property.
This allows state authorities to arrest migrants crossing from Canada on charges of trespassing.
