Senator Pushes Immigration Enforcement Despite Federal Pre-emption

The Senate Commerce Committee recommended a bill by Senator Bill Ketron that would allow local police to enforce federal immigration law – even though a state attorney told the committee that federal law pre-empts such action.

Ketron says the General Assembly should still pass the law.

“This is not the first time we’ve ever passed something that was pre-empted by federal law. Sometimes federal law is a little slow to react.”

The bill is scheduled to be heard by the House Employee & Consumer Affairs Committee next week.

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Sen. Ketron’s bill to give local sheriffs and police immigrartion enforcement power is a long shot but is fairly well defined.

“It allows the local law enforcement agencies, the department of labor, they can go out and enforce what is currently in law. So they can go out on a construction day today and enforce it. And now with what was passed in Metro, the sheriff, when they take them down there, pick ’em up, he can deport them.”

Ketron’s bill is SB 2318/HB 1983. It is sponsored in the House by Representative Tom DuBois (R-Columbia).

Although the bill says that local law enforcement agencies would enforce federal immigration law, the Fiscal Review Staff found it would have minimum impact, i.e., it wouldn’t cost much to enforce it.