By: Jojo Tompkins, State and Local Policy Fellow
State legislatures are advancing policies that directly impact immigrant communities — creating new rules, expanding enforcement, and offering critical protections. At the start of the 2025 legislative session, the American Immigration Council shared how states could pass policies to protect their immigrant communities. Now, as the 2025 state legislative sessions wind down, we’re seeing a divided landscape, with regions divided in their approach to immigration. Some states are doubling down on Trump-era enforcement priorities and others are expanding inclusion efforts and protections. In some states, lawmakers are advancing both harmful enforcement measures and policies that support immigrant workforce inclusion. Here’s a look at the key trends emerging across different regions and five enacted bills you should know about.
1. Northeast: Strengthening Protections
Key Bill Enacted:
In the Northeast, recent legislation reflects efforts to advance protections for immigrants, with New York enacting A. 02435. The bill strengthens the Staff Sergeant Alex R. Jimenez Military Immigrant Family Legacy Program which aims to help immigrant families tied to U.S. military service secure legal status and citizenship. The legislation improves access to legal support, while protecting personal information and ensuring state agencies work together to assist families.
Regional Trends:
Across the Northeast, lawmakers have introduced a range of bills aimed at protecting immigrant communities. In New York and Rhode Island, bills have focused on preventing enforcement at sensitive locations like schools, shelters, or hospitals without a judicial warrant, while Connecticut and New Jersey aim to advance TRUST acts to make their communities safer.
2. Southeast: Prioritizing Enforcement
Key Bill Enacted:
In contrast to the Northeast, the Southeast is advancing enforcement focused measures, led by Tennessee’s enactment of S.B.6002. This legislation creates a new centralized immigration enforcement division that will oversee collaboration between state, local, and federal agencies. The bill introduces a new grant-funded 287(g) program, makes it a felony for officials to violate immigration-related statutes, and restricts issuance of permanent drivers’ licenses to non-U.S. citizens. These changes significantly expand the state’s role in immigration enforcement, raising concerns about potential constitutional rights violations and the growing criminalization of local officials who vote to protect immigrants.
Regional Trends:
Other parts of the Southeast are also moving forward with harmful bills for immigrants — several of which have already been signed into law or are awaiting action by their governors. These bills range from restricting in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants to holding charities liable for actions of undocumented immigrants to whom they provide housing. Several states have also passed bills focused on cooperation with federal immigration officials: Florida will now require law enforcement to notify federal and state agencies upon arrest of “unlawful individuals,” Tennessee now requires law enforcement agencies to report each interaction that the agency had with undocumented immigrants and Georgia will prohibit sanctuary policies across the state.
3. Midwest: Split Priorities
Key Bill Enacted:
In the Midwest, policy trends are divided between advancing enforcement measures and expanding workforce opportunities, particularly for international medical graduates (IMGs). The Indiana legislature enacted H.B. 1555 which now allows the state medical board to issue a limited license to IMGs who meet specific criteria and who have an employment offer from a healthcare facility in an underserved area.
Regional Trends:
Other states in the region have prioritized passing strict immigration enforcement measures. North and South Dakota passed legislation prohibiting sanctuary policies and Missouri enacted a bill requiring law enforcement to report the citizenship status of criminal offenders. In Indiana, despite recognizing the importance of its immigrant workforce, the state advanced a measure requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
4. West: Split Priorities
Key Bill Enacted:
Similar to the Midwest, western states are taking divergent paths on policy, with some advancing inclusive measures and others strengthening enforcement. Washington enacted S.B.5104 which will protect employees from immigration-related workplace coercion by amending labor laws, defining coercion and threats, and imposing escalating fines on employers for violations.
Regional Trends:
Meanwhile, Wyoming now limits access to driver’s licenses for non-citizens, Montana requires peace officers to check immigration status during lawful stops, and Idaho passed legislation to restrict public benefits based on immigration status. In comparison, states like Washington and Oregon are expanding protections and opportunities for immigrant communities, with Oregon advancing legislation to expand access to in-state tuition for asylum seekers and Washington passing a bill to support international medical graduates entering the workforce.
5. Southwest: Split Priorities
Key Bill Enacted:
Lastly, the Southwest region reflects a complex landscape. The Colorado legislature is leading in protective measures and recently passed SB25-276, which aims to protect and preserve the civil rights of Colorado’s immigrant residents. The bill, awaiting the governor’s signature, repeals affidavit requirements for in-state tuition access, closes data-sharing loopholes, ensures constitutional protections for immigrants at public facilities, and prohibits local law enforcement from detaining people for ICE without a judicial warrant.
Regional Landscape:
Conversely, the Texas legislature has introduced measures to restrict access to in-state tuition, K-12 education, and bail for undocumented individuals. Yet Oklahoma passed, and Arizona introduced, legislation to expand medical licensing access for international graduates. New Mexico passed bills that allows individuals who are authorized to work in the U.S. to be appointed as law enforcement officers and protects the disclosure of sensitive private information by state agency employees.
Why These Policy Trends Matter
State policy trends—especially what makes it across the finish line—reveal what communities aspire to and prioritize, demonstrating what’s possible and the invaluable role that state policymakers play in the wellbeing of their immigrant residents. Shifts in what policies states advance directly affect the lives of immigrant communities, with policies either enhancing protections or expanding enforcement. As these trends continue to evolve, they will play a critical role in shaping the future of immigrant well-being in the country. It’s more important than ever to track and understand these legislative developments across different regions in the United States.
FILED UNDER: dreamers, in state tuition, state policy
