Immigration Reform 2013: As Congress Stalls, States Move To Pass Laws

The Republican majority in the House has long dug in its heels against a comprehensive immigration reform bill, choosing instead to pursue small, conservative legislation. During the five-week Congressional recess in August, advocates of an overhaul spoke optimistically about the odds that those Republicans would eventually agree to conference their own legislation with the Senate's comprehensive bill. Debate over Syria has dimmed those hopes. But even as a federal immigration overhaul seems increasingly unlikely, a new study from the National Conference of State Legislatures' Immigration Policy Project released on Wednesday shows that states have moved briskly to deal with the issue: by the end of June, 43 states and the District of Columbia had passed 377 laws and resolutions related to immigration in 2013.

According to the report, that activity marked an increase of 83 percent from last year. The biggest spike came in the form of resolutions, with 31 states adopting 231 of them. More than a tenth of those resolutions - 25 in total - asked the federal government to act to reform some aspect or another of the nation's immigration system. But that's about the only consensus existing across the states. Colorado, Oregon and Minnesota, which have both Democratic legislatures and Democratic governors, passed laws making it easier for undocumented immigrants to be eligible for in-state tuition at state colleges. That puts them in league with 12 other states in the union. In Utah, however, the Republican-majority legislature and Republican governor enacted legislation which will require students to show proof of citizenship or indicate non-citizen eligibility in order to qualify for federal financial aid in that state's universities. Indiana passed similar legislation - applicants for financial aid now need to have their citizenship verified.

Another top issue was the question of drivers' licenses and IDs for undocumented immigrants. 34 laws were passed in 20 states, making up 23 percent of all laws enacted on immigration. Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Vermont all signed legislation which would make it legal for the undocumented to receive drivers' licenses. Georgia did the opposite, passing a law which banned undocumented immigrants from receiving them. A host of other states took less dramatic action. Indiana, for example, now requires DMVs in the state to ask applicants for a Social Security number. According to the report, only seven states did not act at all on immigration in the first half of 2013: Delaware, Kansas, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Wyoming.

RELATED: Immigration Reform 2013: Immigrant Advocates, High-Tech Workers Say They Won't Accept The 'Syria Excuse'