SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (AP) In a quiet Southern bedroom community of gardens and parks across the country from Arizona, another skirmish in the battle over illegal immigration is brewing.

Summerville Councilman Walter Bailey, worried there is a void in immigration laws, has proposed an ordinance that goes farther than state law, which was sharpened two years ago to allow police to identify illegal immigrants for deportation.

The proposal would prevent illegal immigrants from living in the town of 45,000, which calls itself "Flower Town in the Pines," and in most cases prevent them from working here.

Bailey, a former state prosecutor, says it was prompted in part by the Obama administration's challenge of the new Arizona law that was to have taken effect this week.

"It was outrageous that when, by default, the state of Arizona has to go in there and do the job the federal government ought to be doing — instead of showing appreciation and support in Arizona, the federal government sues," Bailey said.

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked key aspects of the Arizona law but Bailey said his ordinance is different enough that he doesn't think the judge's ruling applies.

Bailey's proposal not only requires most employers to check the immigration status of workers but those who rent homes or apartments in town would have to prove they are citizens or in the country legally.

"The federal government and to a lesser extent the state government is not doing a whole lot about the immigration problem," he said.

He expects some council opposition but says most of the people he has spoken to favor the ordinance.

Two years ago, the state passed a tough immigration law allowing State Law Enforcement Division officers to train with federal agencies in immigration enforcement.

Since 2006, almost 116,000 people have been sent out of the U.S. by officers in 64 law enforcement agencies nationwide deputized to help enforce immigration laws under the federal-local partnership, called the 287(g) program.

But SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd says the agency's state budget has been cut since the South Carolina law passed and told lawmakers this year while illegals are arrested for serious crimes, the agency doesn't have the resources to enforce workplace immigration checks.

Bailey's ordinance is based on a recent Fremont, Neb., ordinance already under court challenge.

He is concerned about a challenge to the Summerville law if it passes but "I don't think the threat of expensive litigation ought to keep us from doing the right thing. Sometimes you have to figure out what is right and stand up for it and take your lumps."

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, lawmakers in 44 states passed 191 state laws and adopted 128 resolutions on immigration in the first six months of this year. Five were vetoed.

There are numerous local immigration ordinances across the country, too many to track, said Vivek Malhotra, the national advocacy and policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

He said federal and state courts in four states have blocked housing and employment bans such as that in Fremont and the one proposed in Summerville.