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Senate amends and circles immigration enforcement bill after hours of debate
Summary
Senators debated and adopted five amendments to Senate Bill 81, which would require status checks in jails, expand E-Verify use by public employers/contractors, and criminalize knowing trafficking; the Senate circled the bill for further technical work.
Senate Bill 81, legislation that would expand state-level immigration enforcement, drew lengthy floor debate on Feb. 20 before sponsors secured adoption of several amendments and asked the chamber to 'circle' the bill for subsequent technical work. The bill, introduced by Senator Hickman, would require county sheriffs to make reasonable efforts to determine citizenship status of persons confined in county jails, require public employers and certain contractors to use the federal status-verification system (E-Verify), limit issuance of certain licenses to those lawfully present, and make knowingly transporting or harboring an alien in furtherance of illegal presence a Class A misdemeanor.
Senator Hickman, the bill sponsor, said SB81 responds to a perceived federal enforcement gap and summarized its provisions, including…
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