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1 |
ID:
125152
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Publication |
2013.
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Summary/Abstract |
The focus on undocumented immigrants in contemporary U.S. immigration debates, often at the expense of other immigration issues, has led to an illegality trap. This situation has serious negative consequences for both U.S. immigration policy and immigrants, including an overwhelming emphasis on enforcement; legislative gridlock and the failure of comprehensive immigration reform; constitutional conflict resulting from tensions between national, state, and local approaches to dealing with undocumented immigration; and the puzzling absence of federal policies addressing immigrant integration. This essay argues for a reframing of "illegality" as a contingent rather than categorical status, building on the insights of Plyler v. Doe and notions of implied contract and attachment to U.S. society. Doing so, we contend, will shift the terms of the immigration debate, enabling more fruitful policy discussions about both immigration and immigrant integration.
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2 |
ID:
133223
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Publication |
2014.
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Summary/Abstract |
THE QUOTATION ABOVE FROM THE SPONSOR of Arizona's SB 1070, former Senator Russell Pearce, exemplifies the Republican rhetoric focused on the problem of undocumented immigration and border security that has dominated discussions of immigration over the past decade. The negative media coverage and controversy among constituents eventually bubbled into a push to recall Senator Pearce, which was successful in the November 2011 elections.1 Arizona's SB 1070 criminalizes failure to carry proof of legal immigration status as a state misdemeanor; requires the police to determine the immigration status of a person detained in a lawful stop, detention, or arrest if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person might be undocumented; and prohibits local and state officials from limiting or restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws. In essence, the law is broad in its attack on undocumented immigrants and grants substantial power and discretion to the state and local level for enforcing immigration laws.
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