The failure of the federal government to agree on some type of immigration law reform has prompted states to take matters into their own hands.
We've said all along that the issue is a federal one and state law changes are likely to be held up by constitutional challenges. Oklahoma's workplace verification law was supposed to go into effect earlier this month but a judge stopped it.
The Associated Press reports a significant increase in proposed state laws regarding immigration. The National Conference of State Legislatures said 300 immigration bills were introduced in state legislatures in 2005. By 2007, that number soared to 1,562.
It doesn't appear to be slowing down, either. In the first three months of this year, lawmakers introduced 1,106 laws pertaining to immigrants. About 240 new laws were enacted last year.
It's not just states that are getting into the act. Cities and counties want to exert some controls, too. Larger municipalities are as sophisticated as some states in their ability to enforce workplace rules.
Judges also have struck down laws fining landlords for renting to illegal immigrants and requiring licensed contractors to prove their employees are here legally.
National advocates on both sides of the immigration debate don't like having to put out small fires every day. They are hoping, like we are, that a national solution be found to what is very much a national problem.
