MIAMI — Nearly every state in the union tried to tackle immigration on its own this year in the absence of any congressional movement on the matter, and more than half considered Arizona-style enforcement measures, up from six in 2010.
But an Associated Press review found that in legislature after legislature, nearly all the most punitive measures failed.
What had passed as of Monday mostly reinforced current federal law, though a small number of states passed legislation that was helpful to illegal immigrants.
Many measures were set aside so lawmakers could focus on pressing budget crises, but immigrants also have developed more sophisticated lobbying efforts, and business owners came out strongly against tougher sanctions. Some worried about losing sources of labor and gaining extra paperwork. Others feared tourism boycotts like the one organized against Arizona.
Early in the year, high unemployment, a slew of newly Republican-dominated legislatures and frustration over the failure by the White House or Congress to address the problem suggested Arizona’s law would be copied.
That law makes it a state crime for an illegal immigrant to work, penalizes employers who hire them and encourages local authorities to turn over illegal immigrants to federal authorities. An appellate court has blocked provisions that require immigrants carry visa documents and allow police broad leeway to question the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally.
Louisiana State Rep. Joe Harrison, a Republican, said federal inaction prompted his interest in state laws on immigration.
But Harrison’s bill has yet to move out of committee, and most of the others failed, as did most of the proposals requiring businesses to use the federal government’s electronic E-verify system to check the eligibility of new hires. Only a few states made any serious attempt to crack down on employers.
So far, only Georgia and Utah have passed comprehensive bills. South Carolina and Alabama still are considering them.
Experts on both sides credit businesses for much of the legislations’ failure.
“Business owners came out of the woodwork in a way they hadn’t done before,” said Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a national federation of small-business owners who support immigration reform.
