Immigration Fight Hits the States

After the collapse of the effort to address immigration at the national level, we saw good news last week at the local level on how progressives should be addressing the issue.

Across the country in 2006, 570 bills involving immigrants were introduced in state legislatures. In 2007, that number increased to 1169. These have been joined by a slew of local anti-immigrant ordinances across the country. Six states-- Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Tennessee -- have enacted significant anti-immigrant legislation in the last two years.

While some rightwing politicians see appeals to xenophobia as a smart political strategy, the reality is that Latino citizens are one of the fastest growing demographics-- and a traditional swing vote in elections. Part of the reason for progressive victories in 2006 was a backlash by Latino voters against what they saw as anti-immigrant conservative politicians.

There is a whole mix of both xenophobic and progressive approaches to the immigrant issue -- and even sharp divisions over what the "problem" is. But whether the issue is extending public benefits to new immigrants, dealing with voting rights, or raising wage standards, there are clear progressive approaches that state are taking that both address the human needs of all Americans and are the politically smartest strategies.

Read more about what states are doing here.