Immigrant Hate Bill in KY Even Worse Than Arizona's

I wish I could say that Kentucky Democrats in the state house and the governor's office are too smart to risk losing the Hispanic vote by supporting this despicable piece of racist bait, but I can't.

I'm afraid this is just the first of many teabagging pieces of shit with which Senate President and gubernatorial candidate David Williams will be torturing Democrats during this legislative session.

Opponents of an immigration bill filed Tuesday by Senate Republicans say it goes even further than a controversial Arizona law that has been challenged in federal court by President Barack Obama's administration.

Senate Bill 6 was one of several filed Tuesday that is backed by GOP leaders, who have said they hope to pass the measure by the end of this week. Other bills filed Tuesday include a proposal to create a panel that would recommend changes to the state's tax system and bills to tweak state pensions and election laws.

Those who oppose the immigration bill — which would allow police to ask if a person was in the country legally — began to rally against SB 6 on Tuesday, saying it appears to be more onerous than Arizona's immigration law. A judge has issued an injunction halting parts of the Arizona law, including the part that allows police to stop people and verify their immigration documents.

SNIP

The bill, filed by Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, also creates criminal charges for smuggling illegal immigrants and "aiding and abetting" illegal immigrants.

The Catholic Conference of Kentucky, Kentucky Council of Churches, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Kentucky Equal Justice Center were either in the process or had already sent letters to state legislators opposing the bill.

The Catholic Conference of Kentucky, in its letters to senators, voiced concerns that if such a measure were passed, it could cause more harm than good.

"For example, seasoned law enforcement officials report that once they are forced to take on immigration enforcement, they believe immigrants, with whom they have established a degree of trust, will be afraid to report crime to them or help solve it," Delahanty said.

It's impossible to say how many illegal immigrants are in Kentucky, although several studies have placed the number between 26,000 and 45,000. However, studies show that Kentucky has one of the smallest illegal immigrant populations. For example, California is estimated to have 2.7 million illegal immigrants compared to 45,000 in Kentucky, according to a 2008 Pew Hispanic Center study.

Read the whole thing.

Jake has the letter the ACLU sent to senators.