State lawmakers are enacting their own laws to make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to live and work in the United States and for business to employ them.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), over 500 pieces of legislation concerning immigrants have been introduced in state legislatures around the country. While legislation covered a wide variety of topics, many states focused on employment, trafficking, public benefits, education, identification, voting rights and procedures, trafficking, law enforcement, and legal services. Thus far, at least 57 bills have been enacted in 2006, a pace that exceeds that of 2005. A handful of bills have been vetoed, and several more are awaiting gubernatorial action.

Bills were enacted in 27 states: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.