Analysis Of Articles On State And Local Immigration Policy

Both Daniel HoSang’s “They Keep Coming! The Tangled Roots of Proposition 187” and René D. Flores’s “Living in the Eye of the Storm: How did Hazelton’s Restrictive Immigration Ordinance Affect Local Interethnic Relations?” touched on state and local immigration policy.

HoSang discusses Proposition 187 in California, a measure that would allow the government to deny those suspected and those who are undocumented from public benefits, education, and health services. In 1993, Governor Pete Wilson declared that he was against immigration in an open letter to President Clinton saying that illegal immigration was a problem that needed to be stopped. He offered demands such as denying public education and healthcare services to illegal immigrants, creating an ID for legal immigrants, and ending the birthright citizenship policy.

A few months before the election, he endorsed 187. Opposition to the bill emerged through groups such as Taxpayers against 187 and California United against 187. The Taxpayers campaign said that illegal immigration was a problem and that the measure would put people at risk. Many advocates were furious at this campaign; grassroots efforts emerged through other organizations. Despite arguments for this proposition, evidence showed that many problems that 187 was supposed to solve did not exist. More Latino immigrants were leaving California than arriving and most Latino students in LA public schools were US citizens or legal permanent residents. In the 1994 election, the measure passed. Many groups filed legal challenges to block its implementation. It, however, served as a blueprint for reforms on the federal scale which would be seen 1996 federal welfare law and immigration law. The measure helped bring a dramatic increase in naturalization, voting, and political participation among Latinos.

Flores conducted a study in Hazelton, Pennsylvania where in 2006, the Illegal Immigration Relief Act was passed, which would fine employers and landlords of undocumented immigrants and establish English as the official language. There was belief that illegal immigrants were destroying neighborhoods, diminishing the quality of life, and using up social services. The ordinance increased anti-immigrant activism, hardened native views of Hispanics, and increased native whites’ fear. The ACLU sued the city to stop the implementation of IIRA. It was not formally implemented, but it had a symbolic effect. Despite ethnic tensions that emerged, by 2011, they declined. Hazelton experienced a demographic change, which altered the political landscape. Many white residents moved away, and the Hispanic population grew. IIRA failed to prevent further Hispanic immigration into Hazelton.

In his article, René D. Flores discusses an ordinance passed in Hazelton, Pennsylvania. He stated that this and the actions of the working class inspired similar legislation across the country. I questioned the significance of this particular town and this ordinance, considering that he did not include information about what legislation was formed because of this. In he states that the Latino population in Hazelton was made up of a majority of individuals who were Dominican. There are Latinos of European descent, Native descent, and African descent.

A portion of Dominicans are of African descent and while a small portion identify as black, I questioned how this would have affected the way that white individuals in Hazelton would have viewed them. Flores mentioned that some individuals believed that Hispanics were socially closer to white than blacks but after the ordinance, some believed that blacks were closer to whites. In addition to this, I also questioned why 2007 and 2011 were significant years. While I could understand why 2007 was significant since it was the year after the ordinance was passed, why was 2011? The mayor left office in 2010, however, could the symbolic effects of the law have stopped prior to when he left office? Flores also included how some whites moved to smaller communities away from Hazelton, which could have been a result of the financial recession. Due to this, I questioned if ethnic animosity could have declined as they were leaving.