EoW September 2010

The Arizona immigration measure prompted calls for ❈ ❈ economic boycotts of the state, and officials in Phoenix, the state capital, are fearful that the city could lose $90 million in revenue if organisers of 19 large scheduled events take their business elsewhere. Deputy City Manager David Krietor told the Arizona Republic, “We have an image and public relations problem of what might be unprecedented proportions.” The new law has already been challenged in federal court ❈ ❈ by two Arizona police officers who are seeking injunctions to block enforcement of provisions which they argue are unconstitutional. With Arizona likely to face further legal tests, defending itself could become expensive. Wendy Sefsaf, the director of communications for the American Immigration Council (Washington, DC), asserted that immigration is a federal responsibility and that state and local measures typically fail. She said, “This brings up the issue of how far a state can go without federal support – which is not very far.” (Access to “Not a Positive Signal” and the rest of the Wharton School article archive is free but requires enrollment at the website Knowledge@Wharton.) SB 1070 AND CRIME A topic not addressed by Wharton was taken up by US Attorney General Eric Holder who, on 26 th May, met with police chiefs from around the nation to discuss the potential effects of the new Arizona law on communities across America.

The immediate and strong response to the new legislation, accurately termed “a furor,” ran from jubilation to revulsion in a society built up by immigrants but now under stress brought on by the economic downturn. Media emphasis on defiant gestures – the Phoenix Suns basketball team wore jerseys reading “Los Suns” during a game on 5 th May, the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo – works against a considered early evaluation. But Knowledge@Wharton, the online business journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has performed a service by assessing some possible effects on Arizona of the rules that Governor Jan Brewer triumphantly signed into law in her state. (“Not a Positive Signal: the Economic Impact of Arizona’s New Immigration Law,” 21 st May) Americans for Immigration Reform, a business group which ❈ ❈ opposes “destructive measures” on immigration, estimates that, if all unauthorised immigrants were to be expelled from Arizona, the state would lose $26.4 billion in economic activity and approximately 140,324 jobs. And, while the new law may work as a deterrent to illegal immigration, it could in the long run harm Arizona’s already ailing economy with its implicit suggestion that the state is inhospitable to newcomers. “This is not a positive signal to be sending in a globalized world,” observed Albert Saiz, a Wharton real estate professor who does research on immigration. These observations are abstracted fromWharton’s report:

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EuroWire – September 2010