State Immigration Bills Meet Mixed Fates

USA Today: When Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the state’s historic immigration law into effect a year ago this week, lawmakers in dozens of states quickly promised a flood of similar legislation. But as states wind down their 2011 legislative sessions, the results appear as muddled as the immigration debate itself. The Georgia General Assembly passed a bill last week designed to crack down on illegal immigration. The same week, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law that goes the other direction and provides in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants. And the Utah Legislature recently passed a bill that lies somewhere in between. “It just speaks to the complexity of the issues and of the folly of single states thinking they can take it on alone,” said Angela Kelley of the Center for American Progress, a group that opposes Arizona-style laws. State legislators say they are being forced to tackle the issue because the federal government has not done its part.