States Seeking to Curb Illegal Immigration Can Start by Curbing Access to Professional Licenses
By Jessica M. Vaughan on May 24, 2024
Last November, shortly after House Republicans elected Mike Johnson as speaker of the House, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and 25 other state attorneys general (AG) co-signers, urged the speaker to bring forward H.R. 1337, the “Immigration Enforcement Partnership Act of 2023” filed by Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.), a bill that would give state AGs greater authority to “combat illegal immigration” when the federal government does not.
While they wait for Congress to act on their request, these AGs should ensure that their own state laws do not inadvertently assist illegal migrants or the irresponsible immigration policies that the AGs are challenging in court. One area in which state laws can conflict with the goal of deterring illegal immigration is a state’s authority to grant commercial, professional, and occupational licenses. These licenses are considered public benefits to which illegal aliens are generally not entitled unless such eligibility has been affirmatively authorized by state legislation.
Such licenses are required in many states to work as teachers, lawyers, nurses, electricians, cosmetologists, and more. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20 percent of U.S. workers require a license in their occupation.
Every state AG who signed the letter to Speaker Johnson has joined at least one, if not several, of the lawsuits challenging the substantial and irreparable harm caused to their state by the Biden administration’s disastrous immigration policies, including the administration’s abuse of the executive’s limited parole authority.
https://cis.org/Vaughan/States-Seeking-Curb-Illegal-Immigration-Can-Start-Curbing-Access-Professional-Licenses
