Restrictive State Immigration Laws: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

For Immediate Release

Restrictive State Immigration Laws: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

Washington D.C. - This session, state legislatures around the country, including those in Mississippi and Kansas, are again considering harsh immigration-control laws. These laws are intended to make everyday life so difficult for unauthorized immigrants that they will choose to “self-deport” to their home countries. However, experience from states that have previously passed restrictive immigration laws, like Arizona and Alabama, shows that these laws can hinder prospects for economic growth and cost taxpayers millions to implement, defend and enforce.

The Immigration Policy Center is releasing two publications that explain the wide range of issues associated with these restrictive state immigration laws:

Q&A Guide to State Immigration Laws: What You Need to Know if Your State is Considering Anti-Immigrant Legislation (IPC Special Report, Updated February, 2010)
This updated guide provides key answers to basic questions about state immigration-related laws—from the substance of the legislation and myths surrounding the debate to the legal and fiscal implications. As other states contemplate legislation, knowing the answers to these basic questions is critically important in furthering a rational discussion.

Bad for Business: How Harsh Anti-Immigration Legislation Drains Budgets and Damages States’ Economies (IPC Fact Check, February, 2012)

This paper outlines some of the economic and fiscal lessons from states that have passed harsh immigration-control legislation.

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For more information contact Wendy Sefsaf at wsefsaf@immcouncil.org or 202-507-7524