United They Stand: Local Lawmakers Fight Illegal Immigration with State-by-State Strategy

A group of state legislators across the country are getting fed up with federal inaction on illegal immigration, so they're taking it upon themselves to reform immigration law.

Led by members of a group called State Legislators for Legal Immigration (SLLI), their coordinated strategy called "attrition through enforcement" is designed to impose legislation that makes life so difficult for illegal immigrants that even if they aren't caught and deported, they may just leave on their own.

Founded by Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, the group has members in 41 states, including three in Maryland—Delegates Pat McDonough, R-Harford, Nicholaus Kipke, R-Anne Arundel, and Don Dwyer, R-Anne Arundel.

SLLI has worked in Maryland and across the country to introduce controversial bills targeting illegal immigrants, including eliminating birthright citizenship for American-born children of illegal immigrants and authorizing local police to arrest people for suspected immigration violations.

The idea is that the state legislators "will make life so horrible (for illegal immigrants) that they'll self-deport," said Heidi Beirich, director of research at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which opposes such legislation. "So (the states) will make it easier for the cops to harass them, make it impossible to find work and hopefully they will leave. It's terrible policy and it creates a divisive culture."

But McDonough says Maryland, known for its progressive stance toward immigrants, has become a magnet for those who see the state as a safe haven from federal immigration enforcement. He introduced 17 bills this legislative session to address all the difficulties he said illegal immigration creates for Maryland.

He is also supporting a lawsuit against Montgomery College for providing in-county tuition to undocumented students, which goes against current Maryland law. Getting the courts to weigh in on immigration is another part of the strategy to enforce federal immigration law at the state level.

"There certainly is that strategy (to take things through the courts). In some instances you have to force the federal government's hand," said Dwyer.

McDonough argues that Maryland's population of illegal immigrants has exploded in the last few years because the state has provided them with a "free ride."

"Maryland has the largest number of problems because we are probably the top sanctuary or amnesty state in the nation. We have politicians from the governor on down that have the welcome mat out for illegal immigrants," said McDonough.

However, McDonough's concerns are falling on deaf ears. All 17 of his bills have either died in committee or been withdrawn. And the House of Delegates gave approval to a bill allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at Maryland community colleges and universities, provided they graduate from a Maryland high school and pay income taxes. The Senate must approve the House's amendments, and Gov. Martin O'Malley has said he would sign it.