If the Court gives its blessing to this coordinated “attrition through enforcement” strategy and allows S.B. 1070 and its progeny to be implemented, the nation will return to a time of deep division, likely cleaved once again along regional lines, with some states passing welcoming laws, and others passing restrictive ones. Yet the ultimate objective behind the strategy—preventing the “browning” of America—is nonetheless doomed to fail because it is on a collision course with seismic demographic shifts that are already underway.
In this policy brief we look at the divisive national impact of restrictive state immigration laws and examine in greater detail the practical consequences of allowing states to implement such laws, including:
- Pitting pro-and anti-immigrant states against each other by creating hostile versus welcoming environments for immigrants
- Increasing racial profiling and ethnic division by requiring police to make investigative decisions based on appearance, not conduct
- Undermining public safety and social cohesion by making immigrant and mixed-sta- tus families afraid to report crimes, attend school, receive medical assistance, etc.
- Creating severe economic harm by driving needed workers and consumers from the states and hurting the states’ reputations
- Subverting U.S. foreign policy objectives by making foreign nationals and foreign investors feel unwelcome
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via Arizona’s ‘Show Me Your Papers’ Law in the U.S. Supreme Court.