COLUMBIA, SC (AP) – The South Carolina House has adjourned without taking up legislation that would hold local governments responsible for reporting illegal immigrants.
The measure had the support of Gov. Henry McMaster, but the bill never got a second reading, and lawmakers adjourned on Thursday.
The bill would require municipalities to report immigration status to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Greenville Republican Rep. James “Mike” Burns, a bill co-sponsor, said the measure would keep citizens safe and help target illegal immigrants with criminal history.
Democratic Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of Orangeburg described the bill as “a solution in search of a problem.”
Without a second reading and the April 10 deadline approaching for bills to advance from the House to be considered in the Senate, there’s a chance the bill won’t survive.