So today the Supreme Court will probably okay parts of Arizona’s anti-immigrant/Latino law SB 1070. And, like all things, there’s a political angle here. Not that partisan politics can solve all out problems, but it seems like Democrats are less likely to promote these types of policies than Republicans.
The LA Times noted yesterday:
political partisanship consistently predicts when and where states and localities will introduce restrictive immigration laws, with Republican-heavy areas especially likely to do so. For instance, restrictive ordinances are 93% more likely to pass in Republican counties than in Democratic ones. At the state level, there is a 47% difference between Republican-heavy states and Democrat-heavy states.
The short version: Republicans are more likely to target immigrants/Latinos legislatively than Democrats. Then there’s this from the Texas Democratic Party:
The Obama administration filed suit against Arizona’s law because it usurps federal law and would lead to harassment. All of the sixty eight U.S. Representative who filed briefs opposing SB 1070 are Democrats. These include Texas members of Congress Al Green, Charlie Gonzalez, Gene Green, Ruben Hinojosa, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Silvestre Reyes.
In contrast, Governor Rick Perry declared Arizona-style immigration legislation an emergency priority and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a legal brief in support of SB 1070. Mitt Romney said that Arizona’s immigration law was a “model for the nation.” Fifteen states with Republican Governors, 2 Republican U.S. Senators, and 56 Republican members of Congress have filed briefs supporting SB 1070. These include Texas Republican Congressmen Bill Flores, John Culberson, Kenny Marchant, Lamar Smith, Michael Burgress, Ralph Hall, and Ted Poe.
