Ahh the Good Ol' Days...

posted by Josh Goodman

Remember when immigration was going to be a major issue in the presidential campaign?

A Signature Issue

posted by Josh Goodman

Immigration is off the ballot in Arkansas. From the Arkansas News Bureau:

LITTLE ROCK - Supporters of a proposed initiated act to largely ban illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits acknowledged Monday they were thousands of signatures short of qualifying the measure for the November ballot.

Monday was the deadline for submitting signatures on behalf of ballot initiatives to the secretary of state's office, and the leader of the group Secure Arkansas said supporters were about 5,000 signatures short of the 61,974-signature threshold for making the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

Secure Arkansas chairman Jeannie Burlsworth said she was disappointed but that the canvassing effort had strengthen her group. It's goal now, she said, is to push for passage of legislation similar to the proposed initiated act during the 2009 regular legislative session.

This is a win for Mike Beebe, Arkansas' Democratic governor, who opposed the initiative.

Immigration: The Legislative Landscape

posted by Josh Goodman

The year began with lots of state lawmakers talking about tough new immigration laws. So what exactly happened?

In a lot of places, the answer is not much. The 2007 legislative elections in Virginia focused heavily on immigration, but the bills that passed this year were relatively minor. Kansas thought about imitating the "toughest in the nation" law of Oklahoma, its neighbor to the South, but didn't act.

Alabama talked a lot, but did nothing. Indiana seemed on the brink of passing a major bill, but it died in a conference committee.

So four fairly conservative legislatures looked hard at immigration crackdowns and decided not to act. Many other states, of course, never seriously considered the type of legislation that has passed previously in Georgia, Colorado and Arizona, in addition to Oklahoma.

All of that might lead you to conclude that the policy debate over immigration is as much of a dud as the political debate over immigration.

Beebe Weighs in on Immigration

posted by Josh Goodman

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has been among the most successful governor of the class of '06, in part because he's cultivated a good relationship with the legislature and in part because he's generally taken a cautious approach. His latest move is a little more dangerous -- he's opposing a ballot initiative that's designed to crack down on illegal immigrants. From the Arkansas News Bureau:

LITTLE ROCK - Gov. Mike Beebe said Monday he opposes a proposed ballot initiative that would make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to receive public benefits in Arkansas.

"While I oppose illegal immigration, I cannot support this initiative," the governor said in a statement released by his office.

"All of the major provisions it proposes are already covered by federal or state laws, and this ballot title will create bigger government and cost Arkansans money," the governor said. "Passing this initiative would merely re-state these same laws and add additional bureaucracy to Arkansas in the process.

A Mixed Message on Immigration

posted by Josh Goodman

The Dallas Morning News reports on local election results in Texas:

Tim O'Hare, who made a name leading Farmers Branch's efforts to drive out illegal immigrants, was elected mayor of the Dallas County suburb Saturday.

Meanwhile, incumbent mayors and city council members beat challengers who wanted more immigration enforcement in Irving – where campaigns were highly heated and often personal.

...

But Irving's incumbents – Mayor Herbert A. Gears and council members Allan E. Meagher and Rose Cannaday – successfully fought off their opponents to win re-election Saturday. The winners supported the city's means of combating illegal immigration, but were opposed by two candidates who wanted the city to do more and two who wanted it to soften its approach

An Immigration Test

posted by Josh Goodman

Farmer's Branch, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, is home to one of the more novel attempts by a locality to crack down on illegal immigrants. Last year, the city approved a rule that requires landlords to verify that their tenants are in the U.S. legally. The ordinance is currently being held up in court.

Tomorrow, the author of that rule, Tim O'Hare, will square off in the Farmer's Branch mayoral race with Gene Bledsoe, whose supporters include the local apartment association and other critics of the ordinance. So, consider this one small test of the salience of immigration as a campaign issue.

Immigration on the Ballot in Arkansas?

posted by Josh Goodman

Immigration is cooling as a campaign issue, but a few ballot measures might heat the topic back up again. One state to watch: Arkansas.

In November, the state may vote on a proposal designed to crack down on illegal immigration, as the Arkansas News Bureau reports:

Secure Arkansas, which bills itself as a grassroots organization "committed to the rule of law and the fair treatment of both citizens and legal immigrants," filed the measure March 27 with the attorney general's office.

The measure would require state agencies and political subdivisions to "verify the lawful presence in the United States" of anyone over 13 who has applied for a local, state and certain federal public benefits that are administered by state agencies or political subdivisions.

...

Secure Arkansas' proposal would exclude illegal immigrants from postsecondary education benefits, including scholarships and financial aid, and also would prohibit resident tuition for undocumented individuals.

Immigration Still a Dud

posted by Alan Greenblatt

Sorry to keep flogging away on this point, but a new Houston Chronicle poll provides more fodder for Ballot Box's pet argument that immigration is simply not that potent as a campaign issue. Only one in 10 Harris County surveyed said it was a top priority for them.

"I think people wake up worrying about their heath care bills, or costs or inflation," [pollster David] Hill said. "I don't think anybody woke up — even in Houston, Texas, this morning — worried about an invasion of illegal aliens."

In the Chronicle poll, 35 percent of those surveyed name the economy as their most important issue. Fifteen percent named the war in Iraq, and 11 percent said health care.

Shoulda Pitched This Story to Them

posted by Alan Greenblatt

I see The New York Times weighed in on Sunday with a big piece looking at the reasons why a hard line on immigration has been oversold as a political strategy -- a point made on this site previously by Josh and myself.

Still, the Times does give you a bunch of fun 19th-century history as context.

The Spitzer Effect

posted by Josh Goodman

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced last September that he wanted to change driver's license policy as it relates to illegal immigrants. He succeeded, although not in the way he intended.

Spitzer's plan would have removed the requirement that New York driver's license applicants prove that they are in the country legally. That idea prompted a political backlash and Spitzer backed down. What's more, the attention Spitzer brought to the issue has led other states to reassess their own licensing rules.

In the announcement, Spitzer's office noted that eight states already had policies similar to the one he was trying to implement. What's been happening in those states since then?