States Should be Wary of Hefty Costs for Implementation and Lost Economic Activity of State-Level legislation
As costs mount, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is asking a federal judge to consolidate legal challenges to the state’s “papers, please” immigration law, SB 1070. Brewer’s learning the hard way that when you attack the Constitution, civil society stands up to protect it.
Before legislators on other states follow down the Arizona path, they should do a cost/benefit analysis. Fortunately, many of their colleagues have already done the research for them. Following is a recap of studies that look at the costs to governments, businesses, and taxpayers in states that considered passing immigration crackdowns. They show that state-based immigration laws are expensive to implement, defend, and live with. What’s more, they won’t actually solve the problem, which requires a federal fix.
Instead of adopting costly, divisive, and alienating immigration reforms at the state level, state legislators should pressure Congress to do its job and pass comprehensive immigration reform. This is the only fiscally responsible and practical solution.
Source: America’s Voice
