(AmericanProsperity.com) – Louisiana’s Senate just passed a bill that would encourage police to arrest and jail people who reside in the state and came into the United States illegally.
The controversy over who should control the border is growing especially as states like Louisiana are looking to have more control over border enforcement. Those who are in support of the bill have said that they have a right to defend their nation, and having more control over border enforcement and helping them out would be beneficial for everyone.
On the other hand, opponents of the bill have said that it’s unconstitutional and it will shine a negative light on immigrants. They say that it is an overreach of authority and the crimes could “clog up courtrooms.”
A staff attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Huey Fischer García, said “It’s going to create a backlog in our courts, it’s going to drain state resources, and it’s not going to actually reduce crime or make Louisiana any safer.”
Louisiana is not the first state to come up with a migrant-specific law. Other states including Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas have also been making moves in that direction.
One of the Louisiana senators, Sen. Hodges, said, “I think all of us in here know that we have a crisis at the border and our federal government is not doing anything to help the states.”
Louisiana’s bill would also make illegal reentry or entry a crime. Illegal reentry would be considered “denied admission, excluded, deported, or otherwise removed from the U.S.”
Breaking the law could be punishable with a four thousand dollar fine for a first offense and a ten thousand dollar fine with up to two years in prison for a second offense.
If the Louisiana bill is approved, it will only go into effect if the Supreme Court passes the Texas law or the constitution is updated to allow expansion of local border enforcement authority.
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