Record number of immigration bills introduced in 2011

This year state lawmakers have introduced a record number of immigration bills and resolutions according to a new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

So far in the first half of the year, state legislators have seen 1,592 immigration bills, 16 percent more than the same time period last year. Of the bills introduced this year, 151 new immigration laws have been enacted.

Five states, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina, and Utah, passed omnibus laws similar to Arizona’s controversial SB1070. These laws all have similar provisions that include requiring local law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of detained individuals and the mandatory use of the E-Verify system for all employers.

Five other states also made E-Verify, a national database for employers to check an applicant’s immigration status, mandatory.

Aside from these enforcement bills, several states passed a diverse array of immigration bills including Utah’s temporary guest worker program that allows undocumented immigrants to legally work in the state and Connecticut and Maryland’s bills that would allow undocumented immigrants to qualify for in-state tuition.

Since 2005, the number of immigration bills introduced by state legislators has risen. 2007 holds the record for most bills passed, but 2011 is on track to exceed that record.