Center for American Progress Issues Policy Brief on the Consequences of Anti-Immigrant Laws
The Center for American Progress’ latest policy brief focuses on the impact of restrictive state immigration laws, like Arizona’s ‘Show Me Your Papers’ law (which is heading to the U.S. Supreme Court on April 25 for oral arguments), on our country and delves into the practical consequences of such laws.
A few of the consequences include:
- Pitting pro-and anti-immigrant states against each other by creating hostile versus welcoming environments for immigrants
- Increasing racial profiling and ethnic division by requiring police to make investigative decisions based on appearance, not conduct
- Undermining public safety and social cohesion by making immigrant and mixed-status families afraid to report crimes, attend school, receive medical assistance, etc.
- Creating severe economic harm by driving needed workers and consumers from the states and hurting the states’ reputations
- Subverting U.S. foreign policy objectives by making foreign nationals and foreign investors feel unwelcome
You can download the 24-page brief here. It has great infographics and identifies states that have either passed Arizona-style legislation, are close to passing Arizona-type laws, or have considered these laws but failed to advance them in the legislative process.