COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina lawmakers are debating a bill designed to further crack down on illegal immigration, a measure that opponents call discriminatory.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to consider a bill allowing police to check the immigration status of someone suspected of being in the country illegally. The questions could come after a suspect is stopped for something else.
The proposal resembles a measure passed in Arizona last year that inspired a flurry of lawsuits.
Republicans in both the House and Senate call the measure a priority. It would expand the state's 2008 law that required businesses to check their employees' legal status.
The National Conference of State Legislatures says South Carolina is among 11 states considering a law like the one in Arizona.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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