A new bill being discussed could have an effect on schools around the state. SB 590, which Sen. Will Kraus (R-Lee’s Summit) introduced as a companion bill to SB 473, would require schools to determine the impact of illegal immigration in schools. The bill aims to deter illegal immigration into Missouri and closely mirrors bills found in Arizona and Alabama.
“SB 590 … does three things: asks our public schools and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to specifically determine the cost of illegal immigration on our public schools; mirrors federal law in creating a state misdemeanor for any non-citizen who does not have their documentation; and allows police to ask for immigration status on all stops, not just arrests,” Kraus said in press release Jan. 10. “Each of these provisions is designed to better determine the number and impact of illegal immigrants in Missouri. None of these proposed items have any significant punitive provision above what is already in current federal law.”
SB 473, the other bill Kraus introduced, asks the Missouri attorney general to sue the federal government for failing to enforce immigration laws and for the Missouri Auditor’s office to determine the financial burden illegal immigrants place on Missouri taxpayers.
The Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates have taken a stand against SB 590, claiming the bill will place “new enforcement requirements without additional funding” and “cause division between the police and community, creating a climate of mistrust and suspicion,” as their website states.