Jill Esbenshade, Barbara Obzurt
2008
Citations
0
Influential Citations
20
Citations
Journal
Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy
Abstract
Introduction A looming issue for Latinos across the country is the proliferation of new local ordinances targeting undocumented immigrants. Such ordinances usually seek to impose harsh sanctions on landlords who rent to undocumented immigrants and/or employers who hire them. In many of the debates around such ordinances there is a fusion of undocumented immigrants and Latinos. This blurring of distinct (but overlapping) populations is dangerous, as such debates have heightened anti-Latino sentiment and such ordinances are likely to cause discrimination against Latinos through landlord and employer efforts to avoid possible violations. These ordinances are, therefore, of particular concern for those interested in public policy that affects Latinos. Between May 2006 and September 2007, 131 cities and counties in thirty states considered ordinances targeting undocumented immigrants. (1) These ordinances contain five major aspects: rental provisions, employer sanctions, English as the official language, day labor prohibitions, and police enforcement of immigration law. The first three often come as a package and are sometimes called the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, or IIRA. Other locales have considered a wide variety of other measures. For instance, Prince William County, VA, adopted an ordinance (07-894) denying undocumented immigrants county services such as elder care, drug abuse prevention, and aid to the disabled. (2) According to the 9 July 2006 San Francisco Chronicle, the town of Milford, MA, amended their city regulations to prohibit any check cashing businesses, which often cater to immigrants. (3) Forty-four percent of localities have passed at least one prohibition. While this article focuses exclusively on the local level, it should be noted that there are also an unprecedented number of bills being considered and passed at the state level (NCSL 2007). This article seeks to lay out the contours of the local ordinance phenomenon and also the principal arguments against such regulation. The article is based on over sixty interviews with members of communities where such ordinances have been considered. The members of the community are mainly representatives of non-governmental organizations, landlords, business owners, public officials, and police officers. Half of the interviews were conducted in a case study of Escondido, CA, and the others via telephone in fifteen cities in fourteen states. We also reviewed news articles from across the country, legal documents, proposed and passed ordinances, and videos of city council debates. Finally, we analyzed census data for the 131 localities. It is clear from the data collected that there has been a general lack of accurate information in the consideration of these ordinances. We will conclude by reviewing some of the common faulty assumptions on which the ordinance movement relies and the demographic shifts that have driven the perceived crisis. Background of Ordinances There is no doubt that undocumented immigration has increased significantly in recent years. The leading demographer in the field, Jeffrey Passel, estimates that the unauthorized population nearly tripled between 1990 and 2004. Perhaps more significant to the proliferation of ordinances is the dispersal of undocumented immigrants to states that had previously seen any unauthorized and in many cases any immigrants and Latinos in general. In 1990, six states accounted for 80 percent of the undocumented population. By 2004, these six states were home to only 59 percent of undocumented immigrants (Fortuny, Capps, and Passel 2007, 45). While still housing the majority of undocumented immigrants, the six states account for fewer than 20 percent of the ordinances. Although the diffusion certainly contributed to rising concern across much of the country, we have not found a direct correlation between the number of proposed ordinances and the rise in the undocumented population in a particular state. …