News and views from the award-winning author of the novels The Skinny Years, America Libre, House Divided and Pancho Land

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

It did not take long

On the heels of my previous article in which I predicted the proliferation of state and local laws to fill the vacuum left by the failure of the Senate to agree on immigration reform comes news of a new statute from Arizona. In a July 3 article, New York Times correspondent Randal C. Archibold reported the following…

Expressing frustration with the lack of a federal immigration law overhaul, Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona signed a bill yesterday providing what are thought to be the toughest state sanctions in the country against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.


Ms. Napolitano, a Democrat, called the bill flawed and suggested that the Arizona Legislature reconvene to repair problems with it, but she nevertheless moved forward “because Congress has failed miserably,” she wrote in a statement.

Although immigration law is clearly federal jurisdiction, last week’s failure in the Senate will spawn many similar laws by state and local governments. This is only the beginning.


Raul Ramos y Sanchez