The recent Arizona immigration law has been getting a lot of attention, and many experts believe the next battleground for lawmakers may just be California immigration. According to Reuters, Latinos in California, many of which are illegal residents, are stepping forward to protest the Arizona law. Liberals consider tougher immigration laws to be a gateway to human rights violations, while conservatives stand fast in their position that illegal immigration has gone too far. Both groups, however, believe California may just be the next in line to crack down illegal immigrants.
Right from its backyard, California deals with immigration
Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, who live in San Francisco, are two California senators that support amnesty and welcome the flow of immigrants. Boxer has gone so far in the media as to say she’d be happy if illegal immigrants became legal via amnesty and came to live in her city. Of course any person with a sense for Real Estate prices knows that to support living in San Francisco, you will need to make more than illegal immigrant wages. Thus, take Boxer’s open-armed invitation with a grain of margarita salt. Issues on California immigration will most likely be among the big talks with the upcoming state elections.
California holes the highest population in the U.S., illegal immigrants or not
Because of the large illegal immigrant population, the stakes in California would be tremendously high if California immigration law comes into question. Members of the Latino community who previously avoided political involvement are making their voices heard. From the El Concilio community center in agricultural Stockton, Jose Rodriquez told Reuters that “It is a large number of young people, those under 30, who speak English but realize that it doesn’t matter that they speak English. It has to do with the color of their skin.”
However, as former G.W. Bush speechwriter David Frum points out, the letter of the Arizona immigration law specifically forbids stopping anyone on the mere basis of skin color. What remains to be seen, George Will argues in the Washington Post, is whether good police officers in Arizona can aid this “worthwhile experiment in federalism” by making properly nuanced judgments regarding immigration law enforcement. If the experiment should prove successful, the state of California may just decide to head in a similar direction.
A changing tide seen among conservatives
Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, a San Diego County resident, has called the Arizona law “a fantastic starting point,” although it remains uncertain whether the upcoming California elections will take immigration as a major point of argument. The leading candidates in the California governor’s race, Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman, agree that the action needs to be done in the federal government regarding the subject.
But losing Latino vote may just be the main concern among candidates. Will California follow suit if Arizona – which is 30 percent Hispanic by some estimates – gets a majority to agree on tough immigration law? According to the 2008 census, an estimated 36.6 percent of the state population was of Hispanic or Latino origin, but it is safe to guess that not all of the minority group will be politically active in the California election.
