by David Safier From the Phoenix New Times: From 2008 to 2009, Arizona's number of reported hate crimes increased by more than 18.3 percent. This is up over the year prior, 2007 to 2008, which saw a 14.9 percent increase in hate crimes statewide. The numbers themselves show the creep upward. In 2007, there were … Read more
By Jenn Steve Li, 20, a nursing student and on-campus leader, was to be separated from his family and deported to Peru earlier this month after discovering that he is an undocumented immigrant. I'm way late on this story, but thankfully there are others in the APIA blogosphere that have covered it pretty well. Here … Read more
by David Safier Get ready. We're soon to witness an avalanche of news reports saying 100,000 Latinos have left Arizona since SB1070 passed. Also be ready for the "See, it's working already!" comments from SB1070 supporters. The first debunking I've seen of the 100,000 number comes from the Star's Brady McCombs in his post in … Read more
by David Safier In the early days after the passage of SB1070, I asked frequently, where is the Goldwater Institute? These folks are rarely silent about any pressing state issue, yet this time, on the most consuming issue of the day, nothing but crickets. My thought was, G.I.'s libertarian leanings would have led the Institute … Read more
by David Safier Russell Pearce seems to be having trouble with the basic concept of Republican politics. You only pull out your big immigration guns in an election year. It's not really about illegal immigration. It's about frightening and energizing your base and people in the middle so they'll vote for you. Pearce initially didn't … Read more