Now, senators want to pass a bill to curb illegal immigration, but any legislation faces a journey that's as treacherous as the route across the Arizona desert.

Among the potential traps are:

• Opposition from businesses that depend on immigrant labor.

• Protests from critics who say Hispanics and other immigrants legally in the United States could face discrimination.

• Legal challenges claiming constitutional violations.

• Claims that federal law takes precedence over state law and that the issue should be left to the federal government.

Still, senators said they will respond to voters' concerns.

"We have got a lot of constituents who are concerned that our resources are being used up by illegal immigrants," said state Sen. Ronnie Cromer, R-Newberry.

Cromer represents Newberry and Saluda counties, which have seen an influx of thousands of immigrants coming to work in the poultry industry. He said the illegal immigrants are straining schools and the health-care system.

"We don't have a problem with the legal ones who pay taxes," he said.

Immigration legislation is popular for state governments.

In 2006, 33 states enacted 78 immigration-related bills that deal mostly with employment, public benefits and human trafficking, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In South Carolina, state Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, is leading a Senate judiciary subcommittee given the task to draft a bill for the 2007 session.

The subcommittee has used a 2006 House bill as its model. The House approved the bill in 2006, but the Senate did not vote on it.

The proposed legislation includes provisions that would put demands on local and state law enforcement, but the bulk of the ideas being discussed would affect businesses.

Ann Morse, the National Conference of State Legislatures' program director, said state governments are tackling the issue because of inaction on the federal level. People see immigrants in their hometowns and become concerned about their impact, Morse said.

Illegal immigration plays on people's fear of terrorism, she said. And the issue plays well for politicians looking for votes, she added.

Georgia passed immigration reform in 2006. North Carolina also has stiffened laws on immigration enforcement.

Ritchie doesn't want South Carolina to be left behind. "We want to make sure we don't become a safe haven while our neighbors are acting," he said.

However, fixing the immigration problem is easier said than done.

'Good business is paying'

The biggest roadblock will come from businesses.

Already, farmers, construction companies and the tourism industry have spoken out against state immigration reform.

The S.C. Chamber of Commerce wants the Legislature to drop the issue, said Marcia Purday, a chamber spokeswoman.

"Immigration is a federal issue, and state-by-state mandates will complicate it," Purday said. "These piecemeal, localized solutions need to be avoided."

Small businesses would face extra financial burdens, she said.

"Many of the businesses in this state rely on immigrant workers -- especially small businesses," Purday said. "If they became the policemen for immigration, it would add another layer of expense onto these already stretched businesses."

Federal law already requires businesses to check the legal status of employees, said Allen Amsler, president of McCrory Construction in Columbia.

Amsler said his company does not hire undocumented workers, although he acknowledges the construction industry has a reputation for hiring them.

Good businesses try to do the right thing, said Amsler, who also is on the board of directors for the Carolinas Association of General Contractors.

"Unfortunately, there's folks out there who do it and get away with it," he said. "Good business is paying the price. They shouldn't go after business.

We haven't let them cross the border. I don't know that we should be taking the responsibility for it."

'Big business is responsible'

Those pushing the state to act say the Legislature must put pressure on businesses.

Roan Garcia-Quintana, executive director of the Americans Have Had Enough Coalition in Mauldin, says undocumented workers will leave South Carolina if they are cut off from jobs.

"People are saying they do the jobs Americans don't want to do," he said. "I say finish that sentence: It's the 'jobs Americans won't do for $3 or $4 an hour.'

"If you follow the money, you see big business is responsible for bringing all these people in here."

Garcia-Quintana said states must take on immigration reform because the federal government has acted too weakly -- including the plan to build a 700-mile fence.

"For every fence you put up, someone's going to put a store to sell ladders and shovels to get around it," Garcia-Quintana said. "I feel strongly we need to put a stop to all of this."

Any Hispanic opposition?

Garcia-Quintana is a Cuban immigrant who legally came to the United States as a child. He says uncontrolled illegal immigration is unfair to all those who got legal permission to enter the United States.

His opinion is just one example of the diverse Hispanic population, and that diversity is one reason the community hasn't mounted opposition to the Legislature's move toward immigration reform, said Tammy Besherse, an attorney with the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center.

Besherse also said it's hard to organize opposition when no one is sure what the immigration bill will look like.

"Right now, they're just drafting," she said. "We don't know what it's going to be."

But Besherse says state-level immigration reform will lead to discrimination against Hispanics.

"It just doesn't affect those who are here illegally," she said. "It will affect those who are citizens. You can't tell by looking that someone is here illegally."

For example, some proposals on the table would require businesses to check immigration status through a federal database, Besherse said.

"Are employers going to go through that hassle?" she said. "If they see someone who looks or sounds foreign, are they going to go through all those hoops to hire them? That could lead to discrimination."

Irma Santana, executive director of the Coalition for New South Carolinians, said many who want the state to pass immigration laws do not understand the Hispanic community. Immigrants come to work, not to cause problems, she said. It is impossible to look at Hispanics and know whether they are documented or not, she said.

"Sometimes, even if you speak English, you speak Spanish with your family," Santana said. "What can we do to educate the American people? I don't think they mean to be racist or prejudiced. I just think it's ignorance."

'Leeching off our system'

But the S.C. voters who say illegal immigration is out of control are loud in their demands for action.

Community groups, including one called Save Our Saluda, are popping up around the state.

Save Our Saluda formed this year after residents realized thousands of immigrants had moved to their county.

Marti Adams, a co-chair, said Save Our Saluda doesn't oppose legally documented immigrants moving to the community, but "these other people are leeching off our system."

The group has called on its representatives for help, including Cromer, who represents Saluda County, she said.

"My hope, on a state level, is we stop spinning our wheels and get something done," Adams said. "The situation is worsening daily."