In Red States, Anti-immigrant Bills Are Failing As Businesses Push Back

In Tennessee, a bill championed by White House adviser Stephen Miller would allow public schools to deny enrollment to undocumented children. In Idaho, employers would have been forced to use the government E-Verify system to stop undocumented immigrants from getting jobs. In Utah, undocumented immigrants would have been denied public assistance for vaccines or food for pregnant mothers.

But businesses and Christian groups helped block each of those proposals from becoming law.

“Business leaders across various industries are nervous about the many immigration-focused bills being proposed or that have recently passed at the state level, which negatively impact the workforce,” said Jennie Murray, president of the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy organization that represents Fortune 500 companies.

In fact, of the roughly 200 bills targeting legal and undocumented immigrants in state legislatures this year, fewer than two dozen have made it into law so far, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the American Immigration Council. More than 80 of the measures have died, multiple were vetoed, and dozens more have made little progress this spring legislative season, although several state legislatures are still in session.

Many of the bills share common goals and similar texts, and they reflect the immigration enforcement priorities of the Trump administration.

But much of the most aggressive legislation has stalled after failing to gain traction, even in red states such as Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Idaho.

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In Utah, Republican state Rep. Cheryl Acton called a bill that would have denied public services to undocumented immigrants a “violation, really, of the Sermon on the Mount.” The measure never got a sponsor in the state Senate, after being introduced by Republican state Rep. Trevor Lee, who told The Post that the White House was “very supportive” of the bill. When asked if the White House pressured him to introduce the bill, Lee demurred.

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Tennessee is one of about 10 states this year that have considered bills to prevent undocumented and noncitizen students from accessing public schools and colleges. As of Friday, none of the measures had been enacted.

Earlier this month, the Tennessee state Senate dropped the bill limiting undocumented students at schools from the legislative calendar after widespread pushback from businesses, educators and clergy.

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From the White House, Miller has also recently suggested Texas lawmakers end public education funding for undocumented children, though a bill has yet to be introduced, according to a New York Times report. A White House official said Texas lawmakers were providing a legislative update to White House staff and this issue came up during that discussion.

In Idaho, the Heritage Foundation and former Trump assistant attorney general Theo Wold helped Republicans craft a package of bills including one that would mandate all employers use E-Verify, a government system that checks work eligibility. The bill passed the state House but died in the Senate in early April, exposing a divide between MAGA Republicans in northern Idaho and the pro-business wing of the party in the southern part of the state, which relies more heavily on immigrant labor.

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