Arizona's Immigration Fight - SB 1070

Tags: immigration/citizenship, nationalism, politics/election/voting, prejudice/discrimination, race/ethnicity, social mvmts/social change/resistance, assimilation, boundary work, imagined communities, nation, tea party, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 2010
Length: 23:19
Access: YouTube

Summary: This clip is a short news documentary from Al Jazeera's Fault Line and features Josh Rushing's reporting on Arizona's new immigration law, known as Senate Bill 1070 (SB 1070). The new law specifies that it is a misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying registration documents, leading critics to charge that the law effectively codifies racial profiling. Rushing interviews, Arizona State Senator, Russell Pearce, Tea Party protesters, undocumented residents, and members of local law enforcement for the piece. In addition to being informative about issues regarding immigration and citizenship, the clip might be useful for illustrating the continuing relevance of nationalism and how nationalist ideologies incite people to action. At about 6:18, Rushing notes how people feel "victimized, as if the immigrants are taking something from them." The clip also provocatively connects politics with the economy and suggests that illegal immigration is a convenient scapegoat handed to people who have been hit particularly hard by the recent recession.

Submitted By: Lester Andrist

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