COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A bill requiring state police to track refugees coming to South Carolina and to hold their sponsors liable for damages if they commit an act of terrorism is on its way to the floor of the state Senate.
A Senate committee approved the measure on Wednesday. A spokesman for an organization focused on protecting the civil rights of Muslims said South Carolina is the first state he knows of that has proposed such a registry.
The proposal has wide support among conservative Republicans, but its future could be bleak. Two Democrats voted against it Wednesday, with one of them blocking floor debate. A Republican who initially supported the bill said she could not support a provision requiring that refugees’ addresses be placed on an Internet registry.