Republicans got that dead cat bounce from the new law in AZ. However, now they might be going back to the old adage about being careful what you wish for. Now the movers and the shakers in the GOP are worried that there might be a negative impact from this law and that some new potential base might be lost.
According to Politico.com:
Arizona’s immigration law has been an immediate hit with the Republican base, but some of the party’s top strategists and rising stars worry that the harsh crackdown may do long-term damage to the GOP in the eyes of America’s Hispanic population.
From Marco Rubio to Jeb Bush to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Republicans who represent heavily Hispanic states have been vocal in their criticism of the Arizona law, saying it overreaches. Even Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia, a conservative hero for his win last fall, has questioned the law.
And the party’s long-term thinkers worry that the Arizona law is merely a quick political fix which may create a permanent rift with the fastest growing segment of the U.S. electorate.
Most of us were unaware the Governor McDonnell had weighed in on the AZ issue.
The question people need to be asking themselves is will the new legislation help alleviate AZ’s violence. If the answer is no, then they need another strategy. They are making a bad mistake if they are curbing lawn care workers entering the United States. Meanwhile, London burns.
Specifically, Rove, Jeb Bush, and Governor Perry had the following to say:
“I think there is going to be some constitutional problems with the bill,” top Bush strategist Karl Rove said during a stop on his book tour. “I wished they hadn’t passed it, in a way.”
“I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas,” Perry said earlier this week.
Jeb Bush was also blunt: “I don’t think this is the proper approach.”
Regardless of what GOP heavy-weights say, the many folks in AZ are pleased with their legislation. It must be that RINO Karl Rove who just doesn’t have what it takes to be a conservative Republican. [Sarcasm key pressed.]
Pew Hispanic Center Research Report March 2006: 31% Service Industry; 8% Transportation; 15% Production, Installation, and Repair; 19% Construction and Extraction; 10% Management, Business, and Professional; 12% Sales and Admin Support; 4% Farming.
Take the 4% of illegal immigrants involved in farming. That 4% equates to about 24% of the actual farm work force comprised of all ethnicities. Remember that our agricultural sector has really shrunk with regard to employment numbers. The 3-4% of total illegal immigrants actually engaged in farm work is pretty widely accepted. The USDA itself uses the word “small” when referring to the applicable percentage.
Thanks for the interesting and informative post. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to more posts in the future.
I am having a brain shut down on why our studies are giving such different results. I thought mine was more recent than that. I know in VA many hispanics are involved in agriculture and in the fishing industry. We just don’t see it where we live. However, the Northern Neck and Shenadoah Valley both seem alive with them. I am throwing in poultry with agriculture.
You saw the Pew Hispanic Center 2008 update on the site you referenced. You probably were thrown off by that chart showing about 25% illegal immigrants in the agricultural sector. That means only that illegal immigrants make up about one-fourth of the total agricultural work force per se, which is an increasingly diminishing work force. It is true that they are represented in the agricultural work force by higher comparative numbers than those found in other job categories, but that one-fourth in agriculture still represents only 4% of the total of illegal immigrants on the entire US work force.