Response to Outrage Over Arizona's New Immigration Law: Failings of the National Government

Shaina of Shaina's Corner is seriously offended by Arizona's new immigration legislation, and with valid reason. The law can easily be viewed as racial profiling. To put this law into context, however, I believe it's telling to look to the national immigration policy. The national government has been content for years to all but ignore growing illegal immigration, which is unsurprising, given the politically touchy nature of the subject and the minimal negative effects most states feel. However, the government has also done little to improve the legal immigration process, which is mired in inefficiency. The problems associated with illegal immigration (such as displacement and wage reduction of lower-class American workers, and overtaxed social services) simply aren't strong enough to create national demand for reform. Indeed, many businesses may benefit from the reduction of wages.

While the nation as a whole may not be feeling the negative effects of illegal immigration, the weight of the problems fall heavily on Arizona, with an undocumented population of a half-million. Healthcare of illegals especially is a massive expense to the state. Unable to secure the border effectively without federal support, Arizona is given few options as problems get out of hand. Legal and racial issues aside, however, the new law does little to reduce problems associated with the open border, such as drug trafficking and the associated violence, and is questionable in its ability to substantially reduce the impact of illegals on the state. Overall, it would seem more sensible and less contentious to keep more people from coming in, rather than try to find and deal with those already here.

Arizona Immigration Policy and its Effects on the Race for Texas Governor

Arizona's passage of AZ SB 1070, which allows police officers to require ID from anyone under reasonable suspicion of being an illegal immigrant and gives stiffer penalties to illegals, is igniting a fire among citizens. Cries from opponents derail the plan as racial profiling and a slip towards a police state, while many supporters cite the drain of illegals on social services and the escalating border violence from drug cartels

Back in Texas, these recent events have brought the states own contentious Immigration debate to the forefront just in time for the Governor's primary, and this may bode ill for republican incumbent Rick Perry. The race for Texas Governor is tight, and Perry's lead is slipping; down to 4% over Democrat Bill White from 10% in January.

Perry desires to attract the Hispanic vote (or at least not have it mobilize against him) while maintaining his conservative base, and part of his solution has been skirting around immigration issues to avoid conflict. He has been content to pass the blame to the federal government, often citing his standing order for National Guard support as well as the Feds failure to secure the border.

Now, failing to promise a tougher stance on illegal immigration with policy similar to that of Arizona could result in a loss of his conservative base. This is perhaps best summed up by conservative blogger TexasFred: "I don’t like Bill White, but we can survive him, and maybe, in the process, we can wake TEXAS up [to real conservatism]" Acting to please conservatives, however, could seriously mobilize Hispanics against him, given the obvious racial undertones on the Arizona policy.

Perry will inevitably be able to respond to the issue in step with his current strategy, but the power of the Arizona policy may stir up enough voter energy to give Bill White a serious chance. As political scientist Jerry Polinard says, “...for White to win, there has to be a large Latino voter turnout.”

The election aside, Perry has a point that the federal government has not been using resources to manage flow of people across the Mexican-American border, especially given the prevalence of drug cartels and the violence they bring. Given the lack of federal support, the escalating border violence, and the drains on social services due to increasing numbers of illegals, border states such as Arizona may be drawn to policies such as the one we see; effectively band-aids that do nothing to address the cause of immigration problems while bringing up significant civil rights issues.