Private Prison Industry Helped Create Anti-Immigrant Law in Arizona

Monday, November 01, 2010
Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration law wasn’t just the product of state Senator Russell Pearce’s effort to undo the “lawless” condition that illegal immigration has imposed on the nation. It was also driven by the private prison industry’s drive for profits.
 
According to an investigation by NPR, the legislation was drafted last December during a meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization of state legislators and large corporations and associations, including tobacco company Reynolds American Inc., ExxonMobil, the National Rifle Association and the largest private prison company in the U.S.: Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). It was only afterwards that Pearce presented his bill to the state legislature.
 
With immigration detention considered an important new source of income, CCA made sure to be in the room when the bill was drafted. Once the legislation was introduced in January, 36 cosponsors signed on—30 of whom wound up receiving donations over the next six months from prison lobbyists or prison companies, including CCA, Management and Training Corporation and The Geo Group.
 
As for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who signed the bill into law on April 23, her spokesman, Paul Senseman, and her campaign manager, Chuck Coughlin, are both former lobbyists for private prison companies.
-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky
 
Making a Profit from Detaining Immigrants (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Comments

Dicky 12 years ago
IF YOU REALLY WANT THE TRUTH?Governor of Texas Rick Perry canceled his chncae of being President, as he had an insignificant standing on holding back the hordes of illegal aliens. In prior speeches he was more for amnesty than against it and handing out taxpayers money for tuition of illegal immigrant children is not honing the TEA PARTY to support him. The majority of Americans have trusted Politicians like Perry for far too long, good orators in front of crowds, but in actual fact his words are meaningless when it comes to legislating what The People really want such as a real double layer fence across our Southern border of which he disapproves and is a urgent National Security issue. In Furtherance to the growing concerns over the border fence that President Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano declares “that it’s Secure?” Go to the “American Patrol” website, and digest the surveys along the 2000 miles of border. It just doesn’t exist. Type into Google “American Patrol” and add Fence as keywords and then find out the truth and not exaggerations or lies. Thousands of miles still remain wide open, consisting of decaying rusted fencing. Hundreds of miles are just supplemented with vehicle barriers, which anybody could pass through. Check and decide for yourself if the borders are controlled on American Patrols full explanatory maps. There are hundreds of miles that federal agents that are even prohibited from the border areas , because of environmental laws that have gone haywire with regulatory policies. Yet the environmentalist remain lock-jawed on the mounds of filth and human effluent left by the thousands of illegal migrants and immigrants who slip through every month, who end up pilfering the taxpayers pockets . I think human life of a rancher comes first before a species of frog or a tiny plant instead of another “political Correct” endangered Species Act.. Far superior in worth for Presidency is Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain, as neither are part of the GOP establishment. Bachmann, Cain should address strongly the expensive and social consequences of illegal immigration, which is consuming this nation in balkanization and wrecking American democracy. Both are heavily supported by the TEA PARTY and have exceptional immigration grades, to enforce the laws already on the books. Both are Constitutional Conservatives and believe fully in shrinking government, scrapping the present tax code and returning agencies of government to each individual State. Only the REAL TEA PARTY doesn’t crave the illegal alien votes, or massive influx of cheap labor for overwhelming power or profitable interests. If I had my way, I would vote in Donald Trump as president. He would make sure that International trade treaties played fairly. No other country has the most consumers’ in the world, so Trump would insure fair treaties instead of what we have now. My God! A child could get better results, then the rip off our Diplomats have made with China. Don’t believe in the Liberal Progressives, open border and radical organizations that THE TEA PARTY is an opponent of E-Verify as this is a downright lie. The TEA PARTY NATION that is just one of thousands of independent entities, as the TEA PARTY is just commonplace Americans, who have been kicked around too long. The majority of TEA PARTY members are unbending there will be no more Amnesties. No clandestine small Amnesties that have been happening for years, millions entering annually. True TEA PARTY leaders will rescind any Sanctuary City or State policies, with refusal a loss of federal funds. If you are appalled by the mockery of our immigration laws, reach for that phone and call you’re Representative at 202-224-3121. Don't wait this is a very powerful E-Verify bill that could help millions of Americans find work, especially in the lower incomes. When 20 million Americans are jobless, being only finding temporary or part time work, this should be not the time for hiring foreign nations. My commentary cannot possibly cover the whole travesties perpetrated on Americans, but all evidence of years of failure, unconcern and corruption is available at NumbersUSA, American Patrol and Judicial Watch. There are just three of the hundreds of serious pro-sovereignty organization, fighting the open border zealots. In Conclusion, Farmers and Mega-agricultural corporations complaining about E-verify and lose of cheap labor are keeping concealed that when an illegal alien worker is sick, he leaves that unfortunate uninsured soul at the emergency room. His whole families also are treated from a minor cough to a serious illness—which the taxpayers pay for eventually. Same with all the children, that are placed in Public schools—which come out of your taxes, not the farmer’s profits. It’s a fact that State and federal governments appropriate from taxpayers an estimated $113 billion dollars a year in catering to illegal aliens. (Heritage foundation study)
Sam Rite 14 years ago
Millions more have come from Mexico illegally ,they have overstayed visas and stolen across our borders like sneak thieves, disrespecting our laws, culture and citizens. They are anarchists, further breaking our laws by using stolen Social Security numbers, fraudulent identity documents, driving without valid licenses or insurance, lying on I-9 forms and taking American jobs in an unholy alliance with criminal employers. They suck services and tax dollars from our economy and could care less about the very real and very extensive economic damage they have caused to American workers through lost jobs and reduced wages. They are dishonest with poor integrity and tarnished character. They have proven themselves to be unworthy of the most valuable citizenship in the world. The same holds true for illegal aliens of all nations. There is no moral imperative to allow people to come here illegally for their own economic benefit. If you want to help people of other countries improve their lot, there are ways to do that that don't require breaking US laws. If there is any moral imperative regarding illegal immigration, it is not advantage those who jumped the line over those who followed the rules to come here. How do you explain to someone who waited years to immigrate here legally that we look the other way while millions gain jobs by slipping over the border? That's the outrage here.
ReadBetweentheLines 14 years ago
Immigration of the illegal variety is a legitimate concern whose continuance is the reason we are having this conversation in the first place. I find it troubling that rather than center an investigation on the reasons people keep entering the U.S. illegally, we'd rather scrutinize a company that our very own government chooses to work with to address this issue the best way they know how. Detention centers keep these immigrants safe and provides them a means to better themselves until they return home. Every story I have read on this issue paints CCA and the "prison industry" with a very broad brush. I believe CCA is the only one that has now issued its own response at www.TheCCA360.com.
Facts 14 years ago
I AM NOT SAYING DONT CLOSE THE BORDERS. I AM SAYING STOP THE HATE. Before you Scream and show Ignorance and Hate at least read the Immigration Law regarding Undocumented Immigrants. THE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS ARE PAYING MORE TAXES THAN YOU THINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eight million Undocumented immigrants pay Social Security, Medicare and income taxes. Denying public services to people who pay their taxes is an affront to America’s bedrock belief in fairness. But many “pull-up-the-drawbridge” politicians want to do just that when it comes to Undocumented immigrants. The fact that Undocumented immigrants pay taxes at all will come as news to many Americans. A stunning two thirds of Undocumented immigrants pay Medicare, Social Security and personal income taxes. Yet, nativists like Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., have popularized the notion that illegal aliens are a colossal drain on the nation’s hospitals, schools and welfare programs — consuming services that they don’t pay for. In reality, the 1996 welfare reform bill disqualified Undocumented immigrants from nearly all means tested government programs including food stamps, housing assistance, Medicaid and Medicare-funded hospitalization. The only services that illegals can still get are emergency medical care and K-12 education. Nevertheless, Tancredo and his ilk pushed a bill through the House criminalizing all aid to illegal aliens — even private acts of charity by priests, nurses and social workers. Potentially, any soup kitchen that offers so much as a free lunch to an illegal could face up to five years in prison and seizure of assets. The Senate bill that recently collapsed would have tempered these draconian measures against private aid. But no one — Democrat or Republican — seems to oppose the idea of withholding public services. Earlier this year, Congress passed a law that requires everyone who gets Medicaid — the government-funded health care program for the poor — to offer proof of U.S. citizenship so we can avoid “theft of these benefits by illegal aliens,” as Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., puts it. But, immigrants aren’t flocking to the United States to mooch off the government. According to a study by the Urban Institute, the 1996 welfare reform effort dramatically reduced the use of welfare by undocumented immigrant households, exactly as intended. And another vital thing happened in 1996: the Internal Revenue Service began issuing identification numbers to enable illegal immigrants who don’t have Social Security numbers to file taxes. One might have imagined that those fearing deportation or confronting the prospect of paying for their safety net through their own meager wages would take a pass on the IRS’ scheme. Not so. Close to 8 million of the 12 million or so illegal aliens in the country today file personal income taxes using these numbers, contributing billions to federal coffers. No doubt they hope that this will one day help them acquire legal status — a plaintive expression of their desire to play by the rules and come out of the shadows. What’s more, aliens who are not self-employed have Social Security and Medicare taxes automatically withheld from their paychecks. Since undocumented workers have only fake numbers, they’ll never be able to collect the benefits these taxes are meant to pay for. Last year, the revenues from these fake numbers — that the Social Security administration stashes in the “earnings suspense file” — added up to 10 percent of the Social Security surplus. The file is growing, on average, by more than $50 billion a year. Beyond federal taxes, all illegals automatically pay state sales taxes that contribute toward the upkeep of public facilities such as roads that they use, and property taxes through their rent that contribute toward the schooling of their children. The non-partisan National Research Council found that when the taxes paid by the children of low-skilled immigrant families — most of whom are illegal — are factored in, they contribute on average $80,000 more to federal coffers than they consume. Yes, many illegal migrants impose a strain on border communities on whose doorstep they first arrive, broke and unemployed. To solve this problem equitably, these communities ought to receive the surplus taxes that federal government collects from immigrants. But the real reason border communities are strained is the lack of a guest worker program. Such a program would match willing workers with willing employers in advance so that they wouldn’t be stuck for long periods where they disembark while searching for jobs. The cost of undocumented aliens is an issue that immigrant bashers have created to whip up indignation against people they don’t want here in the first place. With the Senate having just returned from yet another vacation and promising to revisit the stalled immigration bill, politicians ought to set the record straight: Illegals are not milking the government. If anything, it is the other way around. IMMIGRANTS AND TAXES: Q: “Is it true that illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes and drain our economy?” A: As Ben Franklin said, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Like the rest of us, unauthorized immigrants pay taxes on their property and anything they buy. More than half of them have taxes taken out of their paychecks, but because our immigration system is dysfunctional, these taxes are paid under false Social Security numbers. We need a new regimen in which we know who is paying taxes and can ensure that no one is getting a free ride. The only way to do that is to pull unauthorized immigrants out of the shadows and get them on the right side of the law. Three state-level studies have found that unauthorized immigrants pay more in taxes than they use in benefits. In Iowa, unauthorized immigrants pay an estimated $40 to $62 million in state taxes, while they and their employers contribute an additional $50 million to $77.8 million in federal, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from which they will never benefit. In Oregon, unauthorized immigrants—who are not eligible for any state benefits—pay between $134 million and $187 million in taxes each year. Finally, in Texas, the State Comptroller found that, without unauthorized residents, the gross state product in 2005 would have been $17.7 billion less. The Undocumented Immigrants pay the exact same amount of taxes like you and me when they buy Things, rent a house, fill up gas, drink a beer or wine, buy appliances, play the states lottery and mega millions . Below are the links to just a few sites that will show you exactly how much tax you or the Undocumented Immigrant pays , so you see they are NOT FREELOADERS, THEY PAY TAXES AND TOLLS Exactly the same as you, Now if you take out 10% from your states /city Budget what will your city/state look like financially ? Stop your folly thinking , you are wise USE YOUR WISDOM to see the reality. They pay more taxes than you think, Including FEDERAL INCOME TAX using a ITN Number that is given to them by the IRS, Social Security Taxes and State taxes that are withheld form their paychecks automatically. Taxes, paid by You & the Undocumented are the same in each state check your state : http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales.html GAS Taxes paid by you & the Undocumented are the same. Go to and check out your states tax; http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgastaxes.asp Cigarette Taxes paid by you & the Undocumented are the same, check this out in : http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/cigarett.html Clothing Sales Taxes, are the same paid by you & the Undocumented Immigrant; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_States City Taxes, are the same paid by you or the Undocumented, since he pays rent and the LANDLORD pays the city : http://www.town-usa.com/statetax/statetaxlist.html Beer Taxes, are the same paid by you or the Undocumented: http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/beer.html TAX DATA : http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/245.html
Facts 14 years ago
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reagan-insider-gop-destroyed-us-economy-2010-08-10 This week, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) came out with a report entitled, The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers, which discusses the costs of unauthorized immigration to the United States. As usual, FAIR has put out a highly misleading fiscal snapshot of the costs allegedly imposed on U.S. taxpayers by unauthorized immigrants and completely discounts the economic contributions of unauthorized workers and consumers. Moreover, FAIR inflates their costs in a variety of ways and conveniently ignores any contributions that would offset these costs. While the publication is long and deals with a wide range of issues that warrant more dissection by credible economic experts, the trade publication Education Week has already begun the deconstruction with an item that sheds light on their misleading claims about providing English language services in schools. Another argument FAIR makes, which makes it hard to glean what their solution would be is the high cost of deporting undocumented workers which FAIR blames on the immigrants themselves. It's a somewhat circular argument to say that the cost of undocumented immigrants includes the cost of failing law enforcement efforts. So, in essence, FAIR is saying that the deport-them-all approach costs too much money and doesn't work. Yet their "solution" is to spend even more money on enforcement. FAIR's data is meant only to reinforce their vision of "attrition through enforcement." It is not rooted in an effort to move the immigration debate forward. Therefore, passing comprehensive immigration reform - which would yield a cumulative $1.5 trillion in added U.S. gross domestic product over 10 years - is the only sound economic decision the United States can make. SOURCE Immigration Policy Center Who’s behind these laws? The Immigration Reform Law Institute, or IRLI, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, drafted the Arizona law and most of the copycat bills. The Southern Poverty Law Center designated FAIR a hate group because of its founder’s writings, its repeated participation with white nationalist groups, and its receipt of major funding from a racist organization. Copycat laws frequently rely on the work of attorney Kris Kobach, who works for IRLI. Kobach’s lawyering has cost localities who have hired him millions of dollars while the laws have been found unconstitutional. The Arizona law was brought forth by State Senator Russell Pearce, who the Arizona press has described as having a history of associating with neo-Nazis and sending anti-Semitic emails.
Facts 14 years ago
THE FACTS ARE THAT JAN BREWER AND THE REPUBLICANS ARE DOING THIS TO GET REELECTED, HERE ARE FACTS. AS THE GOVERNOR SHE CAN ORDER 5000 NATIONAL GUARDS TO THE BORDER. WHY IS SHE NOT DOING THIS?????????????? 1, HOW MUCH MONEY $$$$$$$ IS ALLOCATED TO ENFORCE THIS LAW?? NONE. 2, HOW MANY NEW POLICEMEN / WOMEN SHES HIRED TO HOLD AND PROCESS THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS? NONE. 3, HOW MANY NEW IMMIGRATION JUDGES SHES HIRED TO PROCESS THE THOUSANDS OF DEPORTATION CASES?? NONE. 4, HOW MANY NEW JAILS SHES BUILT TO HOLD THE THOUSANDS OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS? NONE. 5, HOW MANY BUSES / PLANES SHES BROUGHT TO DEPORT THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THOSE WHO ARE ORDERED BY THE IMMIGRATION JUDGES TO BE DEPORTED?? NONE. CAN ANYONE ANSWER THESE FACTS? THE REPUBLICAN STATES ARE TRYING TO MAKE THIS THEIR PLATFORM, THEY WILL LOSE BIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG TIME. ALL ARE GODS CHILDREN. NO HUMAN IS ABOVE ANOTHER. ALL ARE CREATED BY ONE ALMIGHTY GOD WHO LOVES ALL HIS CHILDREN. I AM NOT SAYING DON'T CLOSE THE BORDERS I AM SAYING STOP THE FOOLISH HATE AND IGNORANCE. Prison Industry Ties to Anti-Immigration Bills Tweet Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon Yahoo! Buzz By Elise Foley 9/17/10 11:06 AM The private detention industry stands to gain substantially from a growing immigrant detention system, so it’s no accident that a lobbying group partially funded by Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, which operates some of the country’s largest private detention facilities, has had a hand in crafting both Arizona’s harsh SB 1070 immigration law and, now, the copycat bills springing up across the country. Ties between Arizona lawmakers and CCA are not news, but Think Progress has a good run down of the key points: SB 1070 was drafted with help from the American Legislative Exchange Council, which helps the private sector write legislation for states. CCA, which is slated to receive $74 million for immigration detention centers in the 2010 fiscal year, helps fund the group. CCA also has close, direct ties with Arizona lawmakers. Gov. Jan Brewer’s deputy chief of staff formerly worked as a lobbyist for CCA — his wife still works as a lobbyist there — and Brewer’s campaign chairman runs a lobbying firm that represents the prison corporation. Similar ties can be found between CCA and lawmakers in other states who have pushed for anti-immigration laws, such as Tennessee and Colorado. (Read the full rundown for the states here.) And CCA routinely gives money to state lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, that have direct connections to the detention business, as The Texas Independent reported last month. Why is it important? Think Progress explains how anti-immigration bills could help the prison industry make a profit: http://wildcat.arizona.edu/perspectives/anti-immigration-hysteria-tied-to-the-private-prison-industry-1.1572422 Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed S.B. 1070 into law, and the legislation’s principal architect, Russell Pearce, both have extensive financial ties to the private prison industry powerhouse Corrections Corporation of America, a company which stands to profit in the sum of millions if Arizona’s “papers please” legislation is enacted. CCA, one of the leading providers of detention and correction services in the country, holds the contract to imprison all federal detainees in the state of Arizona. S.B. 1070 would lead to more arrests on federal immigration charges, causing money to pour into the gargantuan coffers of the private prison industry and directly into the bank accounts of those who are financially tied to it. Republican state senator Pearce submitted a draft version of S.B. 1070 to the American Legislative Exchange Council for revision months before the bill was introduced to the floor of the Arizona Senate. Pearce is one of 35 Arizona legislators who belong to this organization. Two years prior, ALEC was the recipient of millions of dollars in contributions from CCA and Geo Group, two of the largest private prison companies in the state. Pearce’s financial records also indicate that the political action committees funded by both CCA and Geo Group have donated the maximum amount allowable to his campaign. Gov. Jan Brewer’s deputy chief of staff, Paul Senseman, is a former CCA lobbyist. His wife Kathryn Senseman currently lobbies the state legislature on behalf of the company. Still more damning is the fact that the governor’s leading policy advisor, J. Charles “Chuck” Coughlin, is the president of Highground Consulting, the lobbying firm which represents CCA’s interests in Arizona. CCA also contributed a total of $10,000 dollars to the Prop 100 campaign earlier this year, an initiative, along with S.B. 1070, which set the stage for Brewer’s reelection bid. Phoenix CBS affiliate KPHO was among the first to report on this glaring conflict of interest. In retaliation, the Brewer campaign pulled ll advertisements from the network. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The economics of immigration, Stephen C. Goss, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration and someone who enjoys bipartisan support for his straightforwardness, said that by 2007, the Social Security trust fund had received a net benefit of somewhere between $120 billion and $240 billion from unauthorized immigrants. That represented an astounding 5.4 percent to 10.7 percent of the trust fund's total assets of $2.24 trillion that year. The cumulative contribution is surely higher now. Unauthorized immigrants paid a net contribution of $12 billion in 2007 alone, Goss said. Previous estimates circulating publicly and in Congress had placed the annual contributions at roughly half of Goss's 2007 figure and listed the cumulative benefit on the order of $50 billion. The Social Security trust fund faces a solvency crisis that would be even more pressing were it not for these payments. Adding to the Social Security irony is that the restrictionists are mostly OLDER AND RETIRED WHITES from longtime American families. The very people, in other words, who benefit most from the Social Security payments by unauthorized immigrants. ------------------------------------------------------- Moments after signing Arizona's tough new immigration law in April, Gov. Jan Brewer was asked WHAT A ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT LOOKS LIKE???? The question, posed during a news conference that was broadcast live on TV, seemed to catch Brewer off guard. After a long pause, she said, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT A ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT LOOKS LIKE. I can tell you that there are people in Arizona that ASS-U-ME they know what an illegal immigrant looks like. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY KNOW THAT FOR A FACT OR NOT." Her answer cut to the very heart of the controversy surrounding the law, which takes effect July 29. Although there are many people who assume they know what an illegal immigrant looks like, the fact is, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to tell a person's immigration status by appearance, experts say. So despite assurances to the contrary, some civil-rights groups and others fear that enforcement of the law will lead to racial profiling. Several lawsuits already raise worries of civil-rights violations, and a group of Arizona law professors concluded the law authorizes enforcement based on ethnicity. That, they allege, would mean officers would end up harassing and possibly detaining people who aren't illegal immigrants. The vast majority of illegal immigrants are Hispanic. But most Hispanics in Arizona are not illegal immigrants - they are legal residents or U.S. citizens, many with roots dating back generations. Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/07/18/20100718illegal-immigration-profiling.html#ixzz0u2wY1a1d What both these Republicans FORGOT to Mention in their SPIN POLITICS is that It’s all about economics! Removing undocumented workers from the U.S. would total a loss of $1.8 trillion in annual spending and $651.5 billion in annual economic output, according to a study by the economic analysis firm The Perryman Group. It would cost about $28 billion per year to apprehend illegal immigrants, $6 billion a year to detain them, $500 million for extra beds, $2 million to judicially process them and $1.6 billion to transport them home. $230 Billion is the estimated amount it would cost over the next five years to enact the scenario of the mass-deportation caucus and deport the undocumented population, according to a report by the Center for American Progress. Legalization of undocumented immigrants would significantly expand the economy—by a cumulative $1.5 trillion in gross domestic product over 10 years. A deportation approach, by contrast, would have the cumulative effect of draining $2.5 trillion over 10 years from the U.S. economy. Illegal immigrants are paying their share of taxes, they pay the same taxes as you and me when they purchase anything, They don't carry a card that says Undocumented Immigrant, DON'T CHARGE TAXES Start looking at FACTS & NUMBERS. Who’s behind these laws? FOLLOW THE MONEY$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Many may want them gone, but illegal immigrants in Oklahoma can be good business. So say county officials who handle the purse strings of some sheriff's departments in the state. Millions in revenue for transporting and detaining immigrants for the federal government have financed jobs, departments and, in some cases, entire jails. "It's a good business plan,” said Tim Albin, chief of the services division that oversees the budget for the Tulsa County Sheriffs Department. "It allows us to bank and put money back and carry over for other things.” Read more: http://newsok.com/jailing-immigrants-adds-funds-for-some-counties/article/3489827#ixzz0yC9uF24O The Immigration Reform Law Institute, or IRLI, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, drafted the Arizona law and most of the copycat bills. The Southern Poverty Law Center designated FAIR a hate group because of its founder’s writings, its repeated participation with white nationalist groups, and its receipt of major funding from a racist organization. Copycat laws frequently rely on the work of attorney Kris Kobach, who works for IRLI. Kobach’s lawyering has cost localities who have hired him millions of dollars while the laws have been found unconstitutional. The Arizona law was brought forth by State Senator Russell Pearce, who the Arizona press has described as having a history of associating with neo-Nazis and sending anti-Semitic emails.

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