immigration
Opponents of a new Maryland law that would give undocumented immigrants breaks on in-state college tuition have no right to force a referendum, an immigrant rights group charged Monday in a lawsuit seeking to keep the issue off the 2012 ballot. Casa of Maryland, a group often allied with the state’s Democratic leaders, alleges that state elections officials erred in letting opponents collect signatures to suspend the Maryland DREAM Act, the first state law in 20 years to be halted and sent to the ballot by a petition drive.
Maryland college students and an immigrant services group are going to court in defense of a state law that would grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. Opponents of the law have launched a petition drive that will put the law on the ballot in 2012 for voters to decide. Because the petition drive was certified by the state elections board, the law has yet to take effect.
Â
Voters in Ohio and Maryland will decide whether to veto acts of their state legislature in November. Ohio voters will weigh in on Senate Bill 5, and Maryland voters will decide whether to keep the “Dream Act.”
Nebraska’s Appeals Court has ruled that an initiative that would make it illegal to lease or rent to an illegal alien and require anyone living in the city to obtain an occupancy permit from the police department does not violate the state’s single-subject rule. The court also held that it cannot rule on the constitutionality of the requirements of the measure until and unless the voters approve it.
Backers of the petition drive for Initiative 1043 in Washington State have failed to collect enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot. I-1043 would have required employers to use the federal E-verify system to confirm a every potential employee’s immigration status.
Former Congressman and 2008 Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo plans to push at least two Colorado ballot initiatives for the 2010 ballot. One initiative will deal with immigration reform and the other with energy policy. His non-profit think tank also plans to pursue future efforts to legalize drugs through the ballot initiative.
The Fremont City Council has voted 5-1 to appeal a judges ruling that an immigration initiative does qualify for the ballot. The measure aims to curtail the hiring and renting of housing to illegal immigrants. The measure had enough petition signatures to qualify for the ballot, but city leaders claim the city doesn’t have the power to enact the law.
Children of illegal immigrants would no longer be granted automatic citizenship under a proposed California ballot measure.