The fight over immigration has shifted to the states

http://news.jornal.us/article-5394.Tough-times-ahead-for-immigration.html

There is nothing but bad news coming from the immigration front so far this year. The pitched battle over immigration reform ended in December with the defeat of the Dream Act in the Senate. President Obama, who had campaigned on a platform, one part of which was immigration   reform,  met with Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHP) after the Dream was defeated.  He told the CHP he would continue to push his immigration agenda and, would use his veto to derail anti- immigration legislation reaching his desk.

But the forces arrayed against immigration reform are formidable.   A new group, State Legislators for Legal Immigration, (SLLI) led by Rep. Darryl Metcalfe, of Pennsylvania, has launched a movement aimed at “anchor babies.”  SLLI wants to end automatic U.S. citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.   The new Congress, with its large republican majority is unsympathetic.  Many newly minted congressional republicans were explicit in their campaign about their stance on immigration.  It is hard to find among new republicans, a solitary soul sympathetic to the cause of illegal immigrants.  The republican approach is enforcement first. That means heavy security on the southern border, the use of electronic verification (e-verify) to weed out unauthorized workers, and punishing companies that hire unauthorized workers. The record  set for deportation by the Obama administration last year is in jeopardy.  By all indications, the new congress and the states are poised to make things difficult for anyone attempting to enter or remain illegally in the country.