A new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center found that states are increasingly enacting immigration-related laws in the absence of congressional action. Arizona is one of the states leading that trend.
The report looked at the number of immigration laws passed by states from 2005 to 2017. Arizona was among the five states that enacted the most of those laws.
Analyst Cris Ramon studied how partisanship affects the type of legislation that is passed. He said he was surprised to find that even Republican states were passing more liberal immigration laws and vice versa.
“Arizona did follow this trend a little bit so I think you can’t simply write off the whole state and just say well they tend to pass tough immigration laws," Ramon said. "Even a state like Arizona can pass laws that can be pretty progressive.”
Ramon said without enough action from the federal government, states are passing more of their own immigration laws to regulate issues like education, enforcement and employment.
