Abstract
Although the state government of Arizona in the early 2000s became a U.S. national leader in adopting legislation aiming to restrict the legal rights of undocumented persons while facilitating their identification and apprehension, the state’s second-largest city, Tucson, became a place of resistance to such policies and associated federal policies of enhanced enforcement. This chapter first undertakes to explain why Tucson city government has taken such as stance, with reference to its history as a near-border city with a strong Mexican heritage and as the center, in the 1980s, of the Sanctuary Movement for Central American refugees. Next it examines in detail the city’s “immigrant-welcoming” policies, including a series of resolutions passed by the city council and a set of General Orders for the city police force. Finally it relates an unsuccessful attempt in 2019, via a citywide grassroots campaign and ballot initiative, to further strengthen constraints on police conduct in the presence of persons suspected of being undocumented. Arguments for and against the proposition are presented and it is surmised in conclusion that the differences over policy toward immigrants that led to this test in Tucson could manifest themselves in other cities as well.
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Notes
- 1.
The field work in Tucson was facilitated by research grants from the French Agence nationale pour la recherche (2006–2011) and the University of Paris 3 (Sorbonne Nouvelle), 2011–2015.
References
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Cohen, J. (2021). Tucson, Arizona: The Politics of Immigration-Welcoming Policy in a Near-Border City. In: Faret, L., Sanders, H. (eds) Migrant Protection and the City in the Americas. Politics of Citizenship and Migration. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74369-7_2
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