To: The Mississippi State House, The Mississippi State Senate, and Governor Phil Bryant
Oppose Mississippi HB-488
Please oppose the proposed anti-immigration bill (HB 488). Although illegal immigration is a legitimate problem, it should be resolved at the national level.
In the meantime, bills such as the proposed HB 488 are likely to have more negative effects on the state than benefits. For example, despite a very small population of undocumented immigrants in Mississippi, economists estimate that they provide more than 11% of the state's tax revenue. Any draconian approach to "solve" a minor problem in this state will almost certainly lead to a significant drop in state revenues, requiring further economic sacrifices for residents.
Additionally, the proposed bill would not only unnecessarily target Hispanic residents (or anyone who looks "foreign" or "different"), it will also do so in ways that will increase bureaucratic red tape and slow down day-to-day operations in the state, costing the state in lost economic opportunities.
The proposed bill should be carefully studied in light of the disastrous consequences of a similar bill to Alabama's economy. Even if the moral consequences of a law that clearly targets minorities (and will therefore affect citizens and legal residents by treating them as second-class citizens and objects of legalized discrimination) do not persuade you, then the stark economic consequences of such a law should.
Do the right thing for Mississippi. Oppose this legislation.
Why is this important?
A petition to oppose the proposed anti-immigration bill (HB-488). The bill is similar to the bill recently passed in Alabama, which has had disastrous consequences for that state's economy, as well as reversed decades of progress in civil rights in the state.