States Taking Immigration Laws Into Own Hands

The complete failure of our president and our legislature to do anything about immigration -- and after so much time and money was spent convincing Americans who've neverseena Mexican that something needed to be done about them! -- has led to an unprecedented surge in old-fashioned republican democracy at the local level, with state legislatures consdiering over 1,404 immigration measures this year. That's right, since the federal government failed us, the states are stepping up to the plate, just like our founding fathers intended. When it comes to legislating xenophobia and denying rights to thousands of disenfranchised people, no one does it like these United States of America.

170 of these piecemeal immigration bills have been enacted across the country, doing everything from denying little Mexican kids health care to forbidding their parents from working. And good luck driving your kids to the doctor that won't treat them on your way to the job you're not allowed to have -- some states won't let you have a driver's license!

41 states have new immigration policies, so if immigrants want to move to the states where they're still welcome they should find the ones with nicer landscaping and cleaner hotels.

 Surge in Immigration Laws Around U.S. [NYT]