Thread: AZ-State immigration laws driven by local concerns

Saturday, March 13, 2010, 5:30am MST | Modified: Saturday, March 13, 2010, 5:46am

Dueling policies: State immigration laws driven by local concerns
by Christine Rogel


View Larger Editor’s note: Christine Rogel, an Arizona State University journalism student, wrote this story as part of the News21 program, which challenged students from 12 of the nation’s top journalism schools to experiment with various media on in-depth and investigative reports. Click here for a link to her related stories, resource links and video coverage.

Iris Martinez and Russell Pearce have never met, but they might be surprised to learn what they have in common.

Both are state senators and well-known political figures – Martinez in Illinois and Pearce in Arizona. Both have sponsored landmark legislation dealing with immigration. Both have personal histories that illuminate the convictions they hold so strongly.

There also are many ways in which they differ.

Pearce is a white man, and Martinez is a Hispanic woman. She is the daughter of immigrants; Pearce has deep roots in the United States. They have had starkly different experiences with immigration and hold radically different political beliefs.

Pearce calls employment of undocumented workers “treason.â€

[b]A lot of the experiences that I went through, that my mom and my family went through, coming here from Puerto Rico, I’ve taken all this with me to the state Senate, where a lot of the things I do legislatively are based on experiences I’ve had within the community, within the systems,â€

[quote="azwreath"][b]A lot of the experiences that I went through, that my mom and my family went through, coming here from Puerto Rico, I’ve taken all this with me to the state Senate, where a lot of the things I do legislatively are based on experiences I’ve had within the community, within the systems,â€