Throughout history, individuals and groups with certain characteristics have proved to be convenient scapegoats. At various times and places, people of the "wrong" religion, race, or social class have been picked on, discriminated against, and ostracized because they have been deemed to be responsible for whatever has gone wrong, even if they had nothing to do with it. That said, one group, immigrants -- especially those in a country illegally -- has consistently been in the crosshairs of public ire during hard times. And right now, as ABC News reports in "Immigration Wars: More States Looking at Arizona-Style Laws," it looks to be happening again.
2010 Saw Record Number of Immigration Laws, 2011 Projected to Surpass That
Undocumented nannies, housekeepers or lawn caretakers in the state of Texas can perhaps breathe easier about deportation. While new legislation in the Texas House of Representatives would make it a state crime to hire undocumented workers, it excludes those employed in single-family households -- in other words, them.
The bill, introduced by state GOP Rep. Debbie Riddle, is the first of its kind in the country. It's unique in that while it appeases those who want more stringent immigration laws, it doesn't subject Texas households to the rule that would mainly apply to businesses and large employers.
Critics of the bill say it's hypocritical. Supporters charge it's needed in a state where the Hispanic population continues to climb swiftly.
Though it remains stuck in political limbo, the bill reflects a wider push toward implementing tougher anti-immigration laws at the state level. More than 100 immigration-related bills are pending in the Texas legislature alone, including those that would give state and local police officers the authority to enforce federal immigration laws, make English the official language and prevent undocumented students from getting in-state tuition and scholarships.
States across the country, including Georgia and Oklahoma, where the legislatures debated immigration bills this week, have been mulling controversial Arizona-style immigration laws.Thirty-seven states are considering tougher immigration bills, with multiple bills pending in some states.
"The mere fact that Arizona law has sprung up in over 24 other states within a few months of passage, I believe, is historic," said William Gheen, president and spokesman of Americans for Legal Immigration, a group that supports stricter immigration laws.
"We are going to pass more immigration enforcement legislation in the states in 2011 than any year prior. And what we don't get done in 2011 we will get done in 2012," he vowed.
States enacted a record number of bills and resolutions on immigration issues during the 2010 sessions, and every state that met in regular session in 2010 considered laws related to immigrants, according to a National Conference of State Legislatures report. Forty-six state legislatures and the District of Columbia passed 208 laws and adopted 138 resolutions for a total of 346.
The momentum, in part, is being driven by the ascent of Republicans in state legislatures and the U.S. House of Representatives. Many GOP leaders, especially in Southern and Midwestern states, made immigration a flagship issue of their campaigns.
I'm not real tuned-into the immigration debate. Just exactly what am I being saved from by stricter immigration laws? Seriously. All that comes to my mind are fewer day laborers waiting at the corner and more opportunities for honest Americans to pick fruit and harvest vegetables. Always seemed to me like nothing but a convenient scapegoat issue to distract folks from the real root causes of our problems.
Posted by: kwark | March 05, 2011 at 10:48 PM
I think it is disingenuous to frame the immigration debate soley in terms of race. Racism is afterall, the belief in the existence of races. The "Hispanic" race was a creation of the Nixon administration. To be truly consistent with conventional racial categories, as riciculous as they are, true "Hispanics" are really Spanish speaking Native Americans, i.e Spanish speaking Indians. But it encompasses descendants of the Europeans who destroyed the culture of these natives. Preposterous.
I view immigration control as the ability to control resources and spending. If everyone from the rest of the world moved to the USA, would that be OK? Would it be wrong to try to regulate it? Unregulated immigration places huge strains on resources, and strips communities of the capability to manage their resources.
No one is saying ban all "Hispanic" immigration. The fact that folks who are anti immigration control are racists, but well meaning racists, places blinders on how they view this issue, and reduces debate on this issue into a bogus dialogue based upon false assumptions and racist beliefs.
Posted by: Blurtman | March 06, 2011 at 11:26 AM