Immigration Reform in the Palmetto State

In response to a reported 75,000 illegals aliens costing South Carolina taxpayers $186 billion, Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell has announced a plan to curb illegal immigration. Among other things this plan would allow state authorities to enforce federal immigration law, deny most public benefits including admission to state colleges, and penalize employers who fire a legal worker while retaining a worker they know is illegal. According to Harrell and the Greenville News, this plan is based on Oklahoma legislation that resulted in approximately 25,000 illegal aliens leaving that state. For those interested, here's the link to the Greenville News.

Interestingly this comes only a few weeks after our Supreme Court held that the Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) does not preclude workers' compensation benefits under South Carolina state law. The court reasoned that the federal IRCA does not expressly preempt state workers' compensation law. Furthermore, denying workers' comp benefits to illegal aliens would undermine the IRCA's policy goals by encouraging employers to hire illegals because they would not have to insure these workers. That case, Curiel v. Environmental Management Services, can be found here. I'd be interested to learn the cost South Carolinians pay in benefits to illegal aliens. Although technically employers and insurers pay these benefits, that money doesn't grow on trees but instead is passed along to the consumer through higher overhead for goods and services.

Call me crazy, but I doubt our leaders in Columbia will respond effectively to the popular calls for immigration reform. We've had Republican rule in Columbia for as long as I can remember, but there simply has been no backbone to cut spending, enact real tax relief, or implement school choice. However, this may be the kind of issue that Joe Six Pack from Bamberg can understand and reward.

Sic Willie's take is here.