South Carolina Approves Anti-immigrant Law

Today, Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina (USA), approved the anti-immigrant law SB20, South Carolina joins Arizona, Utah, Georgia and Alabama, which also passed legislation to combat illegal immigration.

“South Carolina is a state that follows the laws and welcomes legal immigration but not illegal. (Undocumented) You can go elsewhere,” said Haley at the state Capitol during the enactment of the measure, which takes effect from January 2012.

The anti-immigrant measure allows law enforcement to investigate the immigration status of detainees suspected of a crime and communicate directly with officers of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when they suspect an illegal immigrant is in custody. A Compliance Unit of the Immigration Law, a kind of local immigration police 12 officers at a cost of $ 1.3 million, with powers to examine a person’s immigration status will also be created.

This law will make the production of false documents and not carrying an state ID, driver’s license or immigration document will be considered felonies punishable by up to $25,000 or five years in prison. It also forces companies to check the legality of workers using the federal E-Verify system (short for Employment Eligibility Verification Program) and not using the program at risk of losing their operating licenses and even be closed temporarily. (MS)

Source: EFE