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April 24, 2008

Overview of State Legislation Related to Immigrants and Immigration

January - March 2008

 For the full report in PDF version: click here

States are still tackling immigration related issues in a variety of policy arenas – More than 1,100 bills have been considered in the first quarter of 2008.

This report provides a first look at introduced legislation in 2008 and presents selected examples of enacted laws relating to immigrants and refugees. This process of legislative tracking and reporting is based on a comprehensive and inclusive methodology and captures all state legislation in which immigrants – whether authorized or unauthorized, temporary migrants, aliens and refugees – are affected.

As of March 31, 2008, at least 1,106 bills have been considered in 44 states this year.  Twenty-six states have enacted 44 laws and adopted 38 resolutions or memorials.

This level of activity is comparable to last year, when 1,169 bills and resolutions had been introduced (as of April 13, 2007). At this time last year, 18 states had enacted 57 laws related to immigrants and immigration.  State legislatures had also adopted at least 19 resolutions and memorials.

States continue to address both enforcement and integration issues related to immigrants.  As in recent years, the top three areas of interest are law enforcement, employment, and identification documents. 

Six states are not in regular session in 2008, though two – Arkansas and Oregon – held special sessions.   Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Texas have no regular session. North Carolina’s legislative session convenes on May 13, 2008.

Proposed State Immigration Legislation, by Policy Arena
As of March 31, 2008

Main Topics	Number of Bills Introduced	States
Education	74	22
Employment	179	31
Health	63	22
Human Trafficking	24	14
ID/Driver’s Licenses/Other Licenses	192	35
Law Enforcement	198	35
Legal Services	18	10
Miscellaneous	104	31
Omnibus/Multi-Issue Measures	41	16
Public Benefits	67	25
Voting	24	12
Resolutions	122	28
TOTAL	1106	44

Source: NCSL, Immigrant Policy Project, 2008

 For the full report in PDF version: click here

Last Updated, April 24, 2008

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