A Canyon Apart: Immigration Politics and Ethnic Identity in Arizona

Masthead Logo The Fordham Undergraduate Research Journal Volume 1 | Issue 1 Article 5 December 2013 A Canyon Apart: Immigration Politics and Ethnic Identity in Arizona Peter Morrissey FCRH '11 Fordham University, Follow this and additional works at: https://fordham.bepress.com/furj Part of the American Politics Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Immigration Law Commons, International Relations Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, and the Regional Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Morrissey, Peter FCRH '11 (2013) "A Canyon Apart: Immigration Politics and Ethnic Identity in Arizona," The Fordham Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://fordham.bepress.com/furj/vol1/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalResearch@Fordham. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Fordham Undergraduate Research Journal by an authorized editor of DigitalResearch@Fordham. For more information, please contact . A Canyon Apart: Immigration Politics and Ethnic Identity in Arizona Cover Page Footnote Peter Morrissey, FCRH 2011, is from Omaha, Nebraska. He is a political science major with a minor in Spanish and a concentration in American Catholic studies. Peter is currently conducting research for an honors senior thesis on the role of democratic party divisions in affecting the outcomes of the last five New York City mayoral elections, working primarily with Dr. Bruce Berg. Peter has been admitted to a masters program at Oxford University in theology and public ethics beginning in the fall of 2011. This article is available in The Fordham Undergraduate Research Journal: https://fordham.bepress.com/furj/vol1/iss1/5 FURJ | Volume 1 | Spring 2011 Res earch Morrissey: A Canyon Apart www.fordham.edu/fcrh/furj A Canyon Apart: Immigration Politics and Hispanic Mobilization in Arizona Peter Morrissey, FCRH ’11 POLITICAL SCIENCE This article examines the political and social forces surrounding the April 23, 2010 passage of Arizona’s stringent immigration enforcement measure, Senate Bill (S.B.) 1070, which empowered local law enforcement to demand proof of legal residency from any person suspected of being undocumented. A person’s failure to produce documentation would result in arrest, detention, investigation, and potentially deportation to his or her nation of origin. Through the law’s lens, the article explores the development of the social tension that followed Arizona’s explosive population growth, and examines how Arizona’s large Hispanic population has been unable to assert itself at the ballot box or in statewide government. The article argues that the political exigencies of Arizona are dissimilar from the other border states, explaining why measures such as S.B. 1070 have failed elsewhere. The author employs local and national news sources from the time of the the bill’s consideration, U.S. Census Bureau population data, and case studies and journal articles on Hispanic political organization to explore this unique and fascinating battle over public policy, society, and identity. Immigration has long been among the most contentious issues in the United States, striking at the nexus of American identity, law, security, and justice. Given this extraordinary degree of overlapping complexity, it is not surprising that political firestorms flare around the issue with relative frequency. The most recent immigration-related battle concerns Arizona lawmakers’ aggressive attempt to address this challenge through the now-famous Senate Bill (S.B.) 1070. This state law directly penalizes undocumented immigrants on the state level, and represents the most drastic measures taken by any state to address illegal immigration. The resulting furor has polarized the state along racial, ethnic, and political lines. This study will explore S.B. 1070, its components, and the political environment in which it became law. Through this lens, it will examine (1.) how this law is unique to the social circumstances of Arizona and (2.) why Arizona’s growing Hispanic population has been unable to achieve political influence. Toward this second question, the article will examine why Arizona’s Hispanics were so unsuccessful at blocking a law they detested, and why non-Hispanic residents were generally supportive of the measure. First, it is important to clarify terminology. In this paper, the term Hispanic will be used to refer to Americans and Arizonans of Latin American origin and extraction; it should be understood as functionally the same as Latino when used in the popular sense. One’s assignment as Hispanic or Latino is primarily determined through self-identification and both identifiers are used by various scholarly sources and media outlets. In the context of Arizona, Hispanic will often, though not exclusively, refer to individuals of Mexican origin or ancestry, as the overwhelming majority of Hispanics in said state are in some way linked to Mexico. Furthermore, there is a great deal of discussion of “Hispanic issues,” an imprecise but necessary group of political issues historically linked to this group. These include, but are not limited to, immigration, bilingual education, and law enforcement practices. While it is naïve and inaccurate to paint Hispanics, Arizonans, Mexican-Americans, or even two residents of the same block in Tucson with one broad stroke, for the purposes of this paper it will sometimes be necessary. It is first important to examine the elements and passage of the contentious law in question. Immigration The author would like to thank Dr. Viviane Mahieux, Assistant Professor of Spanish Literature at Fordham University and Director of Latin American and Latino Studies, whose encouragement and thoughtful support made this article possible. Direct all correspondence to Peter Morrissey at . 153 Published by DigitalResearch@Fordham, 2011 1 There are three major components of the law, which in the words of one of its statehouse supporters, will stem the tide of immigrants who will come back “larger, stronger, and more destructive than they were several years ago” (Rossi, 2010). First, the law establishes as a state (and not federal, as per past precedent) misdemeanor an alien’s presence in Arizona without proper identification on one’s person. Second, the law bars state or local officials from restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws. This measure applies to both so-called “sanctuary cities” and individual police departments which restrain their officers from demanding identification. Finally and most significantly, the law empowers law enforcement officers to demand proof of legal residency if they have “reasonable suspicion” of an individual’s illegal status. Taken together, the law constitutes an extraordinarily aggressive attempt to toughen in-state immigration enforcement, rather than border security (Rossi, 2010). After its passage by the state legislature, the bill went to th (...truncated)