Political Battle on Illegal Immigration Shifts to States

Throughout the last few days, we have looked at the immigration in America and how it has shaped our country. We have seen where certain nationalities have made homes and communities for themselves in America and have briefly examined how they have been treated. Additionally, we have been comparing the actual treatment of immigrants to the 'ideal American reception of immigrants' as shown in Emma Lazarus' poem, The New Colossus.

Recently, legislative leaders in at least 6 states have said that they will propose bills similar to the controversial law designed to fight illegal immigration, passed in Arizona in 2010. Opponents of these proposed bills say that these efforts of reform are unconstitutional as they believe that the power to grant citizenship is a federal matter, not something that individual states can deal with. Randy Terrill, a Republican representative in Oklahoma said, “The federal government’s failure to enforce our border has functionally turned every state into a border state. This is federalism in action. The states are stepping in and filling the void left by the federal government” (New York Times). It is evident that states are feeling a lot of pressure to reform immigration laws as the federal government is unlikely to make significant changes. Republicans against the bill are also concerned that by supporting these immigration reforms, the Republican party risks losing it's appeal to Latino voters, the fastest growing group of minority voters. Tamar Jacoby, a Republican who is the president of ImmigrationWorks USA, said, “The Republican Party is divided between those who see that Hispanics are an essential constituency going forward, and those who don’t see that” (New York Times). It is evident that the party is divided and must come together to reach a consensus on reform before it is too late. Are the bills being proposed presenting America in a manner that agrees with the 'ideal American reception of immigrants' that Emma Lazarus wrote about in her poem?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/01/us/01immig.html?scp=3&sq=immigration&st=cse