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1. MS Senate passes AZ-style bill
1. MT House passes bill
1. VA GOP announce legislation
1. DC might give DL's without SSN
1. NE lawmaker's resolution

1.
Arizona-style immigration law passes in Mississippi; Barbour may face decision
The State Column, January 19, 2011

An immigration law based on Arizona’s has passed the Mississippi State Senate.

The bill, passed Tuesday, will allow state law enforcement officers check the status of people they think might be in the United States illegally.

The legislation passed by a wide margin with 34 state Senators voting in favor. Fifteen rejected their support after nearly four hours of debate.

The bill’s passage makes Mississippi the first state to pass a bill similar to the one passed and signed into law in Arizona. A number of states, including Colorado, are considering bills modeled off of the one in Arizona.

The bill’s chief sponsor, Republican Sen. Joey Fillingane of Sumrall, said after questioning from opponents that it’s impossible to know how many undocumented immigrants are living in Mississippi.
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http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/arizona-style-immigration-law-pas...

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2.
Illegal immigrant bill clears Montana House hurdle
By Matt Gouras
The Associated Press, January 19, 2011

The Montana House gave initial approval Tuesday to a bill banning illegal immigrants from receiving workers' compensation insurance benefits, the first of several bills expected to deal with either immigration or the beleaguered insurance program for injured workers.

The measure was endorsed on a 60-40 vote Tuesday and faces a largely procedural final vote Wednesday before going to the Senate.

Backers of the proposal argue it sends a message to those wrongly employing illegal immigrants. They said it would help, admittedly in a very small way, fix the state's problem with high work comp insurance rates.

But the bill was more about illegal immigration than work comp, which is expected to be the subject of several reform proposals this legislative session.

Opponents countered that the workers will still get injured, and hospitals will be left picking up the tab for treating them in emergencies. Those costs will then be shifted to consumers and other insurance companies, they pointed out.

Businesses who, perhaps mistakenly, hire an illegal immigrant and pay for their work comp could be subject to a big lawsuit when the insurance doesn't pay, said one opponent. Testimony showed only perhaps four cases where work comp paid claims last year to illegal immigrants in Montana.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-19/illegal-immigrant-bill-clears-m...

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3.
House GOP announces program against illegal immigration
By Frederick Kunkle
The Washington Post, January 18, 2011

A group of House Republicans announced plans Tuesday to put forward a package of at least 16 bills aimed at illegal immigrants, including bills that would revoke the driving licenses of deportees, block illegal immigrants from attending public colleges and universities, and require the state to begin tracking the number of undocumented children in public schools.

"America is a nation of immigrants," said Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William), who is leading the task force appointed by House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford). "We are also nation founded on the rule of law, the right to possess private property and a common American identity."

Lingamfelter said state action was needed because the federal government has "completely failed" to protect its borders.

The package unveiled Tuesday includes similar bills - HB2332 and HB1430 -- that would require authorities to ascertain the immigration status of anyone "taken into custody" to make sure that the check would apply to those who were arrested by police but released on bail or bond before being taken to jail. Del. C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) would require parents who enroll children in public school to disclose their immigration status and require the state to tally the numbers. Del. Christopher Peace (R-Hanover) would prohibit illegal aliens from enrolling in public higher education institutions. Other bills would force all public contractors, employers with more than 15 employees and all local governments to enroll in the E-Verify Program to ascertain the status of newly hired employees.

Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax) said that although the group was motivated by a recent, controversial law in Arizona that gave police sweeping new powers to inquire of people's immigration status, the final package represented a more moderate approach that should pass constitutional muster. But even Republicans acknowledge that few, if any, have a chance in the Democratically controlled Senate.

"It's mostly filling in loopholes," Albo said.
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http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2011/01/house_gop_anno...

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4.
D.C. could allow drivers to get licenses without SSNs
By Freeman Lopott
The Washington Examiner, January 18, 2011

The D.C. Council is considering a bill that would allow District residents to get a driver's license without a Social Security number, potentially opening the doors for thousands of illegal immigrants to get the government-issued IDs.

The bill introduced Tuesday by at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson and Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham permits the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles to ask for a Social Security number, but does not allow the DMV to deny a resident a license if they don't want to submit their Social Security digits. The language scoots around federal regulations implemented after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that were designed to better regulate who can get a driver's license. Eighteen of the 19 hijackers that day had legitimate driver's licenses or state identification cards, though at least one was in the country illegally. There are about 25,000 illegal immigrants in the District, the Center for Immigration Studies estimates.

"For D.C. to do that, having been at the core of the 9/11 attacks and when secure driver's licenses could have prevented [some of] them, is completely irresponsible," said Janice Kephard, the national security policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for immigration reduction. "This would allow D.C. to become a doormat for illegal alien smugglers, criminals and anyone else who would gain by stealing someone's identification."

But Mendelson said he doesn't see the need for using Social Security numbers.

"There's no rational reason for saying that in order to drive a car you have to have a Social Security number," he said. "I'm more interested in whether you're texting while driving, paying attention and know how to drive."

Mendelson said he introduced the bill because he has heard from two D.C. residents who are U.S. citizens and "philosophically opposed" to having Social Security numbers. He also said it's part of his ongoing efforts to end "our over-reliance on the Social Security card for non-Social Security purposes." In 1998, Mendelson successfully pushed legislation to have Social Security numbers removed from District driver's licenses.
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http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/01/dc-could-allow-drivers-ge...

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5.
Omaha lawmaker introduces immigration resolution
The Associated Press, January 19, 2011

A state lawmaker from Omaha has introduced a resolution aimed at countering another Arizona-style illegal immigration measure.

State Sen. Brenda Council introduced her measure Tuesday. It says immigration is a federal policy issue between the United States and other countries — not Nebraska and other countries. It seeks to have Nebraska's federal delegation help create "a workable immigration system."

The resolution makes reference to a federal immigration system that "separates Nebraska families, destabilizes communities and creates uncertainty, inefficiency and an uneven playing field for Nebraska's businesses and economy."
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http://www.necn.com/01/19/11/Omaha-lawmaker-introduces-immigration-re/la...