Banning of Ethnic Studies in the United States

During the first decade of the 21st century, a political movement based in Arizona sought, through legislation, to ban the use of certain books and the teaching of certain authors and concepts in high school classrooms in the Tucson Unified School District. HB 2281 was signed into law in May 2010 on the heels of one of the strictest anti-immigrant legislative acts, SB 1070. These two bills would become intertwined in the imagination of the country and would elicit protests and generate actions by activists, writers, and teachers as they wound through the legal battles that ensued. This article explores the consequences of the law and the impact both locally and nationally of such actions by focusing on two key events: The Poets Against SB 1070 and the Librotraficante project led by Houston activist Tony Díaz. Moreover, it contextualizes such a historic event within the larger history of educational disenfranchisement of Latinx in the United States.

Arizona contra la inmigración ilegal (ley SB1070); la bivalencia del concepto “solución final”

El objetivo de este trabajo es exponer la situación de la inmigración indocumentada en 2010, ante la promulgación de la ley SB1070 en Arizona. El tema se aborda a partir del manejo que se le dio a la legislación en medios sociales e internet. También se muestra la situación que padecieron después los migrantes en la frontera mexicoamericana. Los resultados surgen de la comparación de los recursos mnemónicos de los discursos y las acciones vinculados con la “solución final”. En el debate en torno a la SB1070, el destino de los judíos en la Alemania nazi adquirió características de un “sitio de la memoria” bivalente; sirvió tanto a los promotores como a los detractores de la medida, para competir por la memoria colectiva a favor de su causa. Con objetos reminiscentes se demuestra la facilidad con que la memoria se utiliza políticamente, y se adapta a casos que nada tienen que ver con el evento que rememoran.Arizona against illegal immigration (SB 1070 law); the bivalence of the “Final Solution” conceptThe purpose of this paper is to expose the undocumented immigration situation in 2010 in view of the enactment of the SB 1070 law in Arizona. The issue is addressed on the basis of how legislation was dealt with by the social media and the Internet. The hardships suffered by migrants on the Mexican-American border are also addressed. Findings arise by comparing the mnemonic resources in speech and the actions associated with the “Final Solution”. In the debate around the SB 1070 law, the fate of the Jews in Nazi Germany acquired the characteristics of a bivalent “site of memory”; it was useful both for the promoters of and the opponents to this measure in competing for the collective memory in favor of their cause. Using reminiscent objects, it is proven how easily memory is politically used, and it is adapted to cases which have nothing to do with the event they recall.

The short-term response of the Hispanic noncitizen population to anti-illegal immigration legislation

Purpose This paper aims to examine the short-term effect of the Arizona Immigration Law of 2010 (SB 1070) on the noncitizen Hispanic state population. Design/methodology/approach To get a consistent estimate of this effect, a synthetic control method has been used to calculate a suitable counterfactual. Findings Results indicate that this bill produced a statistically significant short-term reduction in the proportion of noncitizen Hispanics in Arizona between 10 and 15 per cent. However, the evidence suggests that this effect vanishes after a few months. Originality/value These findings are consistent with previous evidence of the high mobility of the undocumented population in the US, and contribute to the understanding of the effects of federal and state-level immigration legislation.

Fueling White Injury Ideology: Public Officials’ Racial Discourse in Support of Arizona Senate Bill 1070

In a seemingly post-racial moment in 2010, Arizona’s Senate Bill (SB) 1070 was under fire and challenged as racially discriminatory. While the 2010 immigration bill was popular among white Arizonians, critics charged that SB 1070 could facilitate the racial profiling of all Latinos/as in state law enforcement officers’ efforts to check the legal status of those they suspect are undocumented. Analyzing 70 recordings from the Arizona house floor, press conferences, and television interviews during 2009–2012, I investigate how public officials discuss their support for this contested legislation. Proponents of the bill largely used color-blind maneuvers in response to questions concerning racial profiling but simultaneously constructed racialized undocumented immigrants as criminals and economic burdens. Consequently, political supporters of SB 1070 engaged in a racial discourse evoking an implicit white injury ideology that positioned whites as injured by the presence of racialized immigrants, while all Latinos/as were constructed as outside the (white, injured) citizenry.

Illegal Immigration, State Law, and Deterrence

A critical immigration policy question is whether state and federal policy can deter undocumented workers from entering the United States. We examine whether Arizona SB 1070, arguably the most restrictive and controversial state immigration law ever passed, deterred entry into Arizona. We do so by exploiting a unique dataset from a survey of undocumented workers passing through Mexican border towns on their way to the United States. Results indicate the bill's passage reduced the flow of undocumented immigrants into Arizona by 30 to 70 percent, suggesting that undocumented workers from Mexico are responsive to changes in state immigration policy. (JEL J15, J18, J61, K37)