(Courier-Journal,
It is amazing and appalling that so few in our community know anything about Senate Bill 1, an anti-immigration bill that was given the highest legislative priority in the Kentucky General Assembly’s 2020 session.
According to Republican Senate President Robert Stivers, this was done because SB 1 addresses the threat of “illegal aliens” engaging in drug trafficking and draining public resources.
An examination of SB 1, however, shows clearly that it targets immigrants in general. Calling it “the family separation bill,” ACLU-Kentucky strongly opposed SB 1. After heavy criticism from immigrant advocates, some changes were made to the original version of the bill. However, SB 1 which serves no valid purpose, remains seriously flawed and, if passed, will lead to a host of legal problems such as the following:
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The original SB 1 required almost all public employees, excluding those in public schools, to use “their best efforts” to support enforcement of federal immigration law. In the revised bill, a “valid and legal request” had to come from federal officials before public agencies or employees could be asked for assistance. There is, however, no way of assessing if a “valid and legal request” is, in fact, so.
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Public agency employees — though not required to assist in pursuit, detention, arrest and interrogation — can be required to collect information on the legal status of anyone they deem to be an immigrant. Determining whether someone is lawfully present is a highly complicated legal task that untrained persons cannot be expected to execute correctly.
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While SB 1’s primary target would be immigrants, it could also be used for the possible arrest, detention and deportation of numerous others including those lawfully present, even permanent residents and U.S. citizens.
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It will weaken local law enforcement by putting victims and witnesses of crime at risk of being detained and deported if they report a crime.
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Many lawsuits alleging violations of constitutional rights will be filed. If they succeed, local governments will be forced to pay very large settlements since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not pay them.
The community also needs to know about SB 1’s high economic cost to Kentucky. Arizona’s SB 1070, known as “Show Me Your Papers” law (2010), cost the state several hundred million dollars in lost jobs, tax revenue and economic activity, creating significant challenges for several key industries. About 10% of the undocumented population is estimated to have left Arizona after SB 1070 was passed.
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As in Arizona, undocumented immigrants in Kentucky are overwhelmingly employed. According to data from New American Economy (a New York-based bipartisan immigration research and advocacy organization) 88.4% of Kentucky’s undocumented immigrants are of working age (ages 16 to 64).
They pay more than $90 million each year in taxes, including nearly $40 million in state and local taxes, and hold $714 million in spending power that bolsters the local economy.
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If 10% of undocumented immigrants leave Kentucky, the state stands to lose $2.4 million in federal taxes and $2.3 million in state and local taxes. The departure of 2,704 employed workers would mean $71.8 million in lost wage earnings. And 1,588 additional jobs that are dependent on undocumented immigrant consumers would result in an additional $66.3 million in lost wage earnings.
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Immigrants play a critical role in the state labor market, particularly in labor-intensive jobs. Their departure will have a drastic negative impact on many industries including food service, construction and animal production.