News release: “In 2011, state legislators introduced 1,607 bills and resolutions relating to immigrants and refugees in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. This is a significant increase compared with 2010, when 46 states considered more than 1,400 bills and resolutions pertaining to immigrants. Even though more bills were introduced this year, however, 11 percent fewer were enacted. As of Dec. 7, 2011, 42 states and Puerto Rico had enacted 197 new laws and 109 new resolutions, for a total of 306. Fifteen additional bills passed but were vetoed by governors. Five states—Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah—crafted omnibus laws following the example of Arizona’s 2010 bill, SB 1070. These laws include provisions that: require law enforcement to attempt to determine the immigration status of a person involved in a lawful stop; allow state residents to sue state and local agencies for noncompliance with immigration enforcement; require E-Verify (an employment eligibility verification system); prohibit the harboring or transporting of unauthorized aliens; and make it a violation for failure to carry an alien registration document. Alabama’s HB 56 also requires schools to verify students’ immigration status, but the provision was enjoined by the U.S. District Court.”