The Mississippi House Judiciary B Committee has scheduled an illegal immigration fact-finding hearing for Thursday, August 23rd at 1:00pm in Capitol room 113, reviving the push to crack down on illegal aliens in the state.
Among other items, the Committee will hear a legal explanation of the U.S. Supreme Court decision including the constitutionally permissible boundaries of states regarding illegal immigration enforcement.
As you may recall, the Mississippi House passed HB 488 (link bill) during the 2012 legislative session, but it died in the Senate’s Judiciary B Committee.
Rep. Andy Gipson (R), Chairman of House Judiciary B Committee, told YallPolitics in June following the high court’s ruling, “The key provision requiring checking immigration status upon arrest was in fact, upheld. I was very pleased with the decision and plan to further work on a renewed bill over the summer.”
The Committee will also hear from the public at the meeting, both for and against state-based illegal immigration enforcement.
Gipson told YallPolitics this week, “We’re going to take into consideration all the input received at the hearing before finalizing any plans. Although I believe it is clear that the bill the House passed last year meets constitutional muster.”
Lt. Governor Tate Reeves (R) assigned the House passed illegal immigration bill to Senate Judiciary B Chairman Hob Bryan (D) last session. The concern, as some saw it in the Senate, was the pending Supreme Court ruling and the uncertainty of acting before a decision was handed down which could have resulted in a Mississippi law being nullified.
Now that the Supreme Court has ruled and the House bill conceivably complies with the decision, it seems almost certain that the Mississippi House will pass a similar illegal immigration bill during the 2013 session, placing it once again in the Senate’s court.
