Hispanic Population Growth and State Immigration Policy: An Analysis of Restriction (2008–12)

Abstract

Recent failures to enact immigration reform at the national level have been used as justification for a dramatic increase in legislation passed by the American states. Much of the legislation has exposed immigrants to higher scrutiny or prohibited recent immigrants from receiving certain benefits. However, other pieces of legislation have extended assistance to noncitizens, both documented and undocumented. This article examines state immigration laws from 2008 to 2012 using three dependent variables: the number of liberalizing state laws, the number of restricting state laws, and a composite Restrictive Score. We test eight different explanations and find that the most consistent predictor of a restrictive state posture is the growth of the Hispanic population in each state during the last census period.