Arizona's Immigration Woes

In the recent unpleasantness about SB 1070, a great many nasty things have been said about Arizona and Arizonans. However, the information at hand indicates that of those Americans who have heard of SB 1070, a majority favor it, and even of those who haven't, a plurality favor it. I found this information on Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight.com, along with some excellent commentary.

What I suspect further polling will reveal is that a significant element of public support derives from a general empathy and encouragement Americans want to express toward Arizonans for doing something--anything--in the face of Washington's continued foot-dragging. This is essentially the point--or, rather, one of the points--the highly-controversial Arizona anti-immigration icon Sheriff Joe Arpaio made this week: If nothing else, Arizona's actions now force Washington's hands. But that does not necessarily mean Americans favor rounding up and/or profiling people for deportation, or that they are xenophobic racists. Instead, some of them surely are tired of and frustrated by inaction on the national level, of more talk than action--and they approve of the fact that Arizona this week sent a shot across Washington's bow, which it undoubtedly did.

Silver used to write for the DailyKos, so you can rest assured that he is not a raving right-wing lunatic like us Arizonans.

I also read this morning that the Arizona Legislature modified the law by passing an amended version of SB 1070, removing the provision that allowed law enforcement officers to take into account race, ethnicity, or national origin. This is a prudent move, since such a thing is not compatible with existing law.