Gov. Sanford Issues Statement on Passage of Immigration Reform

Governor thanks house for moving forward on bill, urges legislature to get bill to his desk quickly

Governor Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on the S.C. House's passage of S.392 and H.4400, matching bills aimed at addressing illegal immigration in our state that the governor called for during his State of the State address as part of his "First 30 Days" agenda:

"Since Washington has failed to act on this issue, I think that as a state we have to be very clear about not creating incentives for illegal behavior," Gov. Sanford said. "I want to thank the House - in particular Speaker Harrell, Chairman Harrison, and over on the Senate side Senator Ritchie - for acting quickly to address this issue. It's important because with other states in the Southeast contemplating or having passed similar legislation, if we don't act we run the risk of becoming a sanctuary for illegal immigration. Legal immigration has been and continues to be part of what makes this country great, but at the same time we have to send a clear message that South Carolina won't sanction illegal behavior with a wink and a nod. As we've long said, the ultimate fix for this problem will have to come from Washington, but this bill is a step forward and I'd urge both the House and Senate to get it to my desk as soon as possible."

The bills would require all South Carolina employers doing business with the state to be able to verify the citizenship of their workers, and would deny business expense deductions to employers of illegal workers. In addition, the bills would create a state felony for harboring or transporting illegal aliens, would create more penalties for ID fraud in connection with illegal immigration, and would direct SLED to execute a memorandum of understanding with the federal government to serve as an auxiliary immigration enforcement agency.