More good reporting, more interesting stories these past few days.
The Pew Center released a 2nd round of research, this batch showing how the immigration debate has impacted Hispanics in the US. One incredible stat - more than half of all Hispanics in the US, legal and undocumented - 47 million people - fear someone close to them will be deported. Some analysts have argued that Hispanics don't really care all that much about the immigration debate. Hopefully the new Pew Center research will put that idea to rest.
The Times continues its strong leadership on the issue, offering insightful stories on new anti-immigrant laws that take effect in Arizona in January, and how a new wave of Hispanic immigrants are being received in rural Iowa. Both stories accurately capture the complexity of the issue, particularly the strong need in our economy for workers to do low wage, low skilled jobs.
And Rudy joins the Republican immigration ad parade, offering up this new one. He tackles the issue in a way consistent with our counsel these last few years - he defines the issue as one of leadership, and whether we have the political will and toughness to tackle tough problems. He never mentions amnesty, and talks openly about citizenship (though that is all a little vague). In general it is a very different approach from the more hysterical arguments coming from the Romney-Tancredo-Huckabee wing of the GOP.
For a deeper analysis of the current state of the immigration debate see this essay I penned earlier this week or visit our the immigration section of our main site.
Arizona Fear & Loathing
Simon,
It is getting scary here in Arizona. As Barry Goldwater Jr. wrote in the Arizona Republic after attending an anti-immigrant rally, it felt as if he were in Nazi Germany.
Russell Pearce, the legislator who's the architect of much of the anti-immigration legislation (he now proposes the clearly unconstitutional bill denying American citizenship to newborn Arizonans if their parents are undocumented) is running for Congress in the same district where I am running unopposed for the Democratic nomination. This is a district where Balbir Singh Sodha, a Sikh who wore a turban as his religion dictates, was murdered by a racist shortly after 9/11 in a crime motivated by (misdirected) anti-Muslim hatred.
But in a neighboring distict in 2006, voters threw out the Lou Dobbs-like Republican incumbent, J.D. Hayworth, who'd tried to ride the wave of anti-immigrant hysteria.
It's scary here now but we are hopeful and we will not give in to hatred and hysteria.
Richard Grayson
Democratic Candidate, US House, AZ-06
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