The Divided States Of America - States and municipalities are responding in wildly different ways to undocumented workers

“This stark contrast is repeated again and again across the country, confounding businesses with local rules designed to deal with an undocumented population estimated at 12 million nationwide. The federal governments often haphazard enforcement of immigration laws and the absence of a comprehensive immigration policy only adds to the confusion. “This is like a Bermuda Triangle,” says Di Ann Sanchez, vice-president of human resources at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than 80 immigration-related laws were enacted in 32 states in 2006; most of those measures were attempts to crack down on illegal immigrants. Wyoming, for example, enacted a law in 2005 that changed the states definition of “employee” to mean someone an employer believes to be a citizen or permanent resident at the date of hire. That same year, Kentucky passed a law requiring proof of citizenship to obtain certain professional licenses. In Georgia a 2006 law forces employers to accept only identification from states that dont issue ids to illegal immigrants, a law that clashes with the federal mandate that employers accept drivers licenses from all 50 states as valid ID. “Which law do you obey?” says Bob Thomas, executive director of the Roofing & Sheet Metal Contractors Association of Georgia.”

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