MD Delegate polling candidates on immigration law

Baltimore - Maryland may be 2,000 miles from Arizona, but people here are still keeping watch on how the illegal immigration issue is hashed out. ABC2 News Joce Sterman has more on the local lawmaker pitching a copycat bill to close the border of what he calls one of the biggest sanctuary states in the country.

It's a topic that's heated the nation and brought people to the streets. Maryland Delegate Patrick McDonough says, "It's an emotional, passionate issue. It's not a typical, political issue; it's not a party issue. It's an America issue."

And McDonough says illegal immigration is specifically a Maryland issue, impacting the economy, education, healthcare and other areas. In just a few years in the legislature, he's proposed 11 bills relating to topic.

McDonough plans to introduce another one next session that mirrors the Arizona law that's now in a controversial state of limbo. He explains, "Maryland is a sanctuary state. We have about 350,000 illegals. They're creating about $2 billion in taxpayer burdens and crime and other problems. We need a law in this state to turn that around."

But first the lawmaker wants to know how people who want to hold state office feel about illegal immigration. This week he's sending surveys to 500 candidates and incumbents, asking them point blank if they support an Arizona style bill here in Maryland. He plans to post their answers on a website next month, with anyone who doesn’t respond being counted as a ‘No’. He says, "I want the voters of this state to know before the election what the people who are knocking on their doors and running for office think about this bill."

As for how Marylanders feel on the bill, they've been keeping watch from miles away and forming their own opinions about Arizona. Michelle Altman tells ABC2,
"I think it's too harsh. I don't think that necessarily when you get pulled over for speeding you should be asked for your immigration, where you work, what your feelings are on something."

On the other hand, Tom Davidson would support the kind of legislation that’s been crafted in Arizona. He says, "What I think most people don't understand is the word illegal. It's a great law and I'd like to see it here."