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GUEST EDITORIAL - By
Frank Sharry Whistling past immigration As was true in other conservative states this year, exit polls from the Alabama and Mississippi primaries show that the Republican electorate is not all riled up about the immigration issue. Few Alabama and Mississippi primary voters declared immigration to be their priority issue, while recent polling highlights how anti-immigrant rhetoric has hurt GOP candidates among Latino voters. Also, the leading backer of Alabama's “show me your papers” anti-immigration law was unable to use his notoriety to win his primary. As Tom Tancredo proved before him, relying on the illegal immigration wedge issue to carry you to victory is a losing strategy. Based on last week's primary results, Alabama's immigration law clearly doesn't provide political rewards to its leading backers. For national Republican observers, the Alabama example is another reminder that, while the issue serves as a defining issue for Latino voters across the nation, illegal immigration is not a key issue for even the most conservative of voters within the most conservative of states. As has been the case in virtually every Republican primary thus far, from Iowa to Michigan, the issue of illegal immigration does not resound among Republican primary voters. In Alabama exit polling, only 3 percent of voters listed “illegal immigration” as their most important issue, compared with “economy” (59 percent) and “budget deficit” (25 percent). Similarly, only 3 percent of voters in the Mississippi primary ranked “illegal immigration” as their top concern. Meanwhile, the leading architect of HB 56 lost in a GOP Congressional primary to an incumbent currently under federal investigation. State Sen. Scott Beason was one of the leading sponsors of HB 56, and has been one of the law's most vociferous backers. He lost the March 13 Republican primary for a congressional seat despite facing an incumbent, Spencer Bachus, who is under federal investigation and who received support from Texas-based super PAC Campaign for Primary Accountability. Meanwhile, Beason's law, HB 56, continues to have negative repercussions for the state. The federal judiciary has blocked provisions of Alabama's law; immigrant and civil rights leaders have joined forces to repeal HB56; efforts are underway to have foreign automakers with manufacturing operations in-state speak out against the immigration law; and don't forget the sticker shock over the estimated $11 billion the law might cost the state's economy. It's safe to say Alabama's anti-immigrant law is a black mark against the state's name. But despite the
notoriety HB 56 has attracted, the Republican field was mostly quiet on the
issue of immigration in Alabama while campaigning in the state--perhaps in
light of increased recognition of the damage anti-immigrant politicking is
doing to their party's general election chances and mindful of the damage
the law is wreaking upon the future of the state's economy. |